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PRESKNTI-:n BY 

"1 *H.a44^ X* 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE 
BLESSED MOTHER ANNE 
OF SAINT BARTHOLOMEW 



V.V 



\\^cL. 




INSEPARABLE COMPANION OF SAINT TERESA, AND 
FOUNDRESS OF THE CARMELS OF PONTOISE, TOURS 
AND ANTWERP : FRENCH TRANSLATION OF THE UN- 
PUBLISHED AUTOGRAPH OF THE VENERABLE SERVANT 
OF GOD, PRESERVED BY THE CARMELITES OF ANT- 
WERP, WITH COMMENTARY AND HISTORICAL NOTES. 
BY REV. MARCEL BOUIX, SJ. : TRANSLATED FROM 
THE FRENCH BY A RELIGIOUS OF THE CARMEL OF 
ST. LOUIS, MO., U. S. A. 












3)mprtmatQr 



t JOANNES JOSEPHUS, 

Archiepiscopus, Sti. Ltidovici. 



STI. LUDOVICI, die 20 December, 1916. 



t 4 

i. t. (. 



CONTENTS 



ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS . 
LETTER FROM CARMELITE GENERAL 
DECREE FOR BEATIFICATION 
PREFACE BY WALTER ELLIOTT, C.S.P. 
PREFACE BY THE EDITOR 



PAGE 

V 

ix 

xi 
xiv 
xvi 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY 



FIRST BOOK 

CHAPTER 

I. Birthplace and Parentage 

II. Horror of Sin 

III. New Favors 

IV. Trials from Her Family 
V. Constancy and Recollection 

VI. Journey to Avila 

VII. Protection of God 

VIII. Apparitions 

IX. Her Entrance Into Religion 



PAGE 
3 

5 
7 
9 
11 
12 
13 
15 
16 



SECOND BOOK 



CHAPTER , PAGE 

I. Object of Vocation to Carmel 18 

II. Novitiate of Blessed Mother 22 

III. Devotion to the Passion ....... 25 

IV. Love of God 27 

V. Duties Appointed Her . . ' 29 

VI. Appointed to Care for the Sick ...... 31 

VII. Afflictions 35 

VIII. Joy in Tending St. Teresa 37 

IX. Departure for Alba 40 

X. Last Moments of St. Teresa ...... 41 

XL Her Devotion to St. Teresa 43 

XII. Revelation Regarding Spread of the Order ... 46 

XIII. Prayers for Salvation of France 48 

XIV. Prophecy Regarding Mission ...... 49 

iii 



Contents 



THIRD BOOK 

CHAPTER 

I. Deputation Sent from France 

II. Journey to France ... 

III. Arrival in France 

IV. Duty to Become a Choir Sister 

V. Foundation of Monastery of Pontoise 

VI. Honors Shown the Carmelites 

VII. Method of Prayer 

VIII. Governs Convent at Paris 

IX. Her Zeal for Souls 

X. Foundation of Convent at Tours 

XI. Persecutions and Calumnies 

XII. Visions 



PAGE 

50 
52 
55 
59 
* 61 
64 
66 
69 
71 
73 
1% 
81 



FOURTH BOOK 



CHAPTER 

I. Departure from Paris . 
II. Foundation at Antwerp 

III. Wonderful Favors from God 
Appendix: Chronicles of Antwerp 

IV. The Gift of Miracles Granted Her 
V. Spirit of Prophecy 

VI. Renown for Sanctity 

VII. Protectress of Antwerp 

VIII. Share in Our Lord's Agony 

IX. Visions in Her Last Hours 

X. Revelations to Her Friend Catherine 

XI. Her Glorious and Holy Death 

XII. Her Last Obsequies 

XIII. Miracles After Death . 

Letters of Blessed Mother Anne 



PAGE 
83 

84 
86 
89 
92 

97 
101 
104 
109 
111 
113 
116 
123 
125 
128 



IV 



THE HOLY FATHER POPE BENEDICT XV'S REPLY 

On the Reading of the Decree of Approval of Two Miracles, Wrought 
by God Through the Intercession of the Venerable Servant of God, 
Sister Anne of St. Bartholomew, Professed Nun of the Discalced 
Carmelites, Sunday, February 25th, 1917. 

"From our heart we join in the happiness which the Carmelite 
Order feels at the solemn approval of two miracles wrought by 
God through the intercession of the Venerable Anne of St. Bar- 
tholomew, and we are moved to do so by reasons both personal 
to ourselves and inherent in our dignity. 

"We will not stay to call to mind the ties which in our earliest 
years and in our loved native place united us to illustrious mem- 
bers of the Teresian Order : the more than ordinary esteem which 
Aye hold for that Order would be enough, even by itself, to make 
us share in the joy just expressed in the name of all the members 
of the deserving Order by its worthy head. But how can we help 
saying how, while we can never at any time forget, today the 
memory comes back to us, bringing us keener pleasure, of a visit 
we paid to the convent at Alba di Tormes at the time when our 
stay in Spain was drawing to its close? Fresh with us today as 
if it had taken place yesterday, though indeed it is thirty years 
ago, is the recollection of the tender emotion we felt before the 
precious relic of the transverberated heart of St. Teresa. Ah, those 
thorns which so suddenly appeared in a most unhappy hour for 
the Church bear indeed the message that the spirit of the great 
Reformer of Carmel is ever a-wing amid the Christian people and 
thus shares their joys as well as their sorrows. But we think that 
around that precious relic, together with the thorns — symbol of 
the never-ceasing sorrows of the Church — little flowers should 
grow, too, today, to witness the pleasure of St. Teresa in seeing 
her faithful companion. Sister Anne of St. Bartholomew, so soon 
to receive the cult of Blessed. And shall not the daughters of 
St. Teresa, who, to kindle our interest in their Order, have so often 
reminded us of our visit to the sepulcher of their Blessed Mother, 
join us and all the children of the Reform of Carmel in thanking 
the Lord for having used our littleness to hasten the honor of the 
Blessed for their Sister? 

FRESH INCREASE IN THE ORDER 

"But, far more than for personal reasons, our share in today^s 
happiness of the Reformed Order of the Blessed Virgin of Mount 
Carmel is grounded on reasons intimately connected with the high 
dignity with which, without merit of our own, we are clothed. 
Indeed, the care which, on account of our high ministry, we must 
have for the well-being of the flock entrusted to us, brings to our 



Address of His Holiness 

heart the desire that the well-deserving institutes of the Christian 
people may spread ever more and more. To reach this desirable 
end, what is needed is a more widely diffused knowledge of the 
merits of those institutes. But are not the miracles wrought by 
God, at the intercession of His faithful servant, the seal which God 
Himself sets on the virtues of this privileged servant? And the 
wonders which God works through the intercession of a member 
of a certain family, or child of a certain religious Order, are they 
not a clear sign of the favor with which again God regards that 
Order or that family? We have reason, then, to draw the hap- 
piest auspices for a fresh and greater increase of the Carmelite 
Order from today's approval of the two miracles attributed to the 
intercession of the Venerable Anne of St. Bartholomew. Many 
souls thirsting for Christian perfection will follow the fragrance 
of the sweet-smelling flower reared in the mystic gardens of Car- 
mel, and the Christian people will thus benefit from the new ex- 
amples of virtues which will rejoice the earth, as from the new 
voices raised in heaven in prayer for them. 

"And should not to your hymn of joy be added perhaps the 
harmonious note of all who, in the increase of a religious Order, 
do not see merely an exclusive interest of its children? Should 
not they see, perhaps, full reason for the joy of all who, like the 
Pontiff, must be anxious for the good, not so much of some mem- 
bers, as of the whole mystical Body of Jesus Christ? But, with- 
out entering now, for lack of time, into the advantage of the whole 
Church in the multiplication of monastic Orders, suffice it to say 
that the joy we feel today is indeed caused by the well-founded 
hope that the renewed and more widespread knowledge of the 
Teresian Order may be fruitful of good, not only for a few indi- 
viduals, but indeed for all the Christian people. 

"THE SERAPH OF CARMEL" 

*Tt is enough for the purpose to think of the very nature of 
the Carmelite Institute. Who does not see in that 'spirit of prayer' 
which gained for St. Teresa throughout the centuries the name 
of 'Seraph of Carmel,' and by which she wished her children to 
be guided, how she herself was ever informed by it even in the 
midst of troubles and the difficulties of her many 'foundations'? 
This spirit of prayer was learned directly at the school of the holy 
Mother by Sister Anne of St. Bartholomew, her inseparable com- 
panion for fourteen long years, sharing her most intimate con- 
fidences, receiving her last breath. And how surely and pro- 
foundly Sister Anne of St. Bartholomew learned from her holy 
Mother to express in herself the true character of the Carmelite 
Order is well shown by the marks of kindly deference which, after 
the death of St. Teresa, it was at once desired should be bestowed 
on her, first in Spain, then in the Gauls and Flanders. To the 
blessed Mother who wished to change her white veil to black, she 
had at first opposed sweet violence, founded on reasons of sound 

vi 



Address of His Holiness 

humility, but she could not persist in her opposition when she 
was elected mistress of novices — so clear and eloquent appeared 
in her the spirit of the holy Foundress. And shall we not say that 
with today's approval of two miracles wrought through the inter- 
cession of the Venerable Anne of St. Bartholomew, the Lord 
wishes to call the world again to that spirit of prayer which the 
happy daughter of St. Teresa drew with such living strength from 
her holy Mother? 

AN OPPORTUNE CALL 

"There is none but must see how opportune, indeed necessary, 
such a call is in our day. By the theories in vogue today, by the 
scandals which poison the world, by the very atmosphere in which 
they live, men of our age are miserably drawn towards the earth ; 
to bear them to regions of purer air is a work of true compassion ; 
and should not we rejoice in seeing this work of compassion 
wrought by God through today's recognition of two miracles at- 
tributed to the intercession of the Venerable Anne of St. Bart- 
holomew? The record of the noble Order to which she belongs — 
she of whom the Lord availed Himself to carry out two perfect 
and instantaneous cures of diseases judged incurable — revives in 
us the thought of the spirit of prayer ; indeed, should inspire in us 
a love for the spirit of prayer. 

THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER 

"Someone might say, perhaps, that that is the proper thought 
for monks and nuns, but that it is difficult to see the advantage 
to be drawn from it for the majority of men and especially those 
who, in the whirlwind of the times, live the troubled life of busi- 
ness, commerce and industry. But, of the two miracles approved 
today by the authority of the Church, while one rejoiced in a 
cloister the other brought happiness to a royal court ; if the favored 
object of one was a minister of the sanctuary, it was a Queen of 
France who drew from the other benefits and life itself. The Lord 
does nothing by chance, and why should we not say that also 
under the gilded roof of a royal court was shown the efficacy of 
the intercession of the Venerable Anne of St. Bartholomew, be- 
cause the Lord willed that men should know that the spirit of 
prayer was necessary for the life of the Christian, not only in con- 
vents and cloisters, but always and everywhere? This divine les- 
son has been repeated again today in the decree which recognizes 
the miracles wrought by God, both in a poor convent of Antwerp 
and in a rich palace of Ghent, through the intercession of her who, 
following in the footsteps of her great mistress, promoted and 
spread the spirit of prayer. We are justified, then, in sharing in 
the joy which the Carmelite Order feels today; evident is the 
good which all the Christian people can draw from the publica- 
tion of the decree on the miracles attributed to the intercession of 
the Venerable Anne of St. Bartholomew. 

vii 



Address of His Holiness 

"Assuredly there is not one among you, beloved children, who 
thinks that the spirit of prayer imposes the obligation of continued 
or too frequent vocal prayers ; you know that it consists princi- 
pally in the uniting of the soul with God, and no one is ignorant 
that such union is wrought with the thoughts of the mind and the 
affections of the heart. But, that no empty or reasonless obstacle 
may prevent the spread of the spirit of prayer, do you, who know 
its fruits, spread it ever more, bring others to appreciate it. Say 
that it does not in the least tend to take us from our studies or 
occupations, but only claims to sanctify both the one and the other, 
directing all our work to the glory of God ; say that as the dove, 
in order not to lose the whiteness of its wings, must always rise 
in flight without touching the mud of earth, so also, to keep pure, 
the Christian soul must live in a region where the pestilential 
breath of the age does not reach ; and what is there better than 
the spirit of prayer to prevent the poisonous vapors of the earth 
reaching even the regions of the soul? 

"Your exhortations and examples, beloved children, will suc- 
ceed in spreading the divine lesson even in hearts which seem the 
least open to receive it. But, above all other benefits, will be the 
Benediction of the Lord, who, with loving counsel of providence 
towards us, has kept for our time the public recognition of the 
miracles wrought by Him, in days now long past, through the in- 
tercession of the Venerable Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew. 
And this Divine Benediction we invoke in copious measure on the 
illustrious Order to which the Venerable belonged; on Spain, 
which gave her birth ; on Belgium, her country of adoption ; on 
those who have striven to hasten the honor of the altars ; and spe- 
cially on all who have the intention to profit by her example and 
patronage to bring about that the Christians of our age all rule 
themselves by the true spirit of prayer." 



vm 



J. M. 
BROTHER CLEMENT OF STS. FAUSTINUS AND JOVITA, 

Praepositus General of the Discalced Brethren of the Order of 
B. V. M. of Mt. Carmel and Prior of the same Holy Mount. 

To Our Beloved in Christ, the Fathers, Brothers, and Sisters of 
Our Order, Greeting Everlasting in Our Lord : 
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the 
Father of mercies and the God of all comfort," who, in the midst 
of the many great sorrows and trials by which we are oppressed 
in these dreadful times, has deigned to grant us a very great solace 
and joy. For, on the 6th day of May of the present year, our 
Most Holy Sovereign, Pope Benedict XV, will bestow the honors 
of the Blessed in Heaven on Venerable Anne of St. Bartholomew, 
that shining ornament of our Order, by enrolling her in the num- 
ber of the beatified. 

Hence our joy; hence our voice of exultation; for all of you 
know in what esteem this virgin ought to be held, and with what 
filial respect she ought to be venerated. She was an intimate and 
familiar companion of our Holy Mother Teresa of Jesus, whom 
she served up to her dying hour; and she inherited in a marked 
degree her twofold seraphic spirit, namely, love and zeal for the 
glory of God and for the salvation of souls. 

There is no need of explaining how much this most happy 
event redounds to the glory of God and our own advancement; 
by it God's glory is increased — for whatever honor is bestowed 
upon the Blessed and friends of God, all conduces to His glory — 
and also a new model of excellent virtues is placed before us, and 
a most powerful advocate with the Almighty is given to us, who, 
in union with the Blessed of our Order, will procure more effica- 
cious graces by which we may imitate her in this life and one day 
become the sharers of her everlasting blessedness in heaven. 

While, then, we announce to you the most joyful news of this 
solemn event, we likewise exhort you to render due thanks to God 
for this great favor. "Thanks be to God for this unspeakable 
gift," especially during the solemn rites which are to be celebrated 
with the greatest spiritual joy in all our churches throughout the 
world on the day of the Beatification; since this is only fitting. 

In view of the trying want in our communities and the afflic- 
tion of the times, we should not dare to ask anything else; never- 
theless, since our Very Reverend Father Postulator has to cover 
the great expense of the cause of this Beatification, we should 
like to suggest that every convent or monastery, as far as it is 
able, generously contribute some alms, however small, for the 
love of God and our Beatified Sister. And this will be the more 

ix 



Letter from Carmelite General 

acceptable and will be the more liberally rewarded by God in pro- 
portion as it is given in a generous spirit. 

Pray for us; and the peace and joy of the Holy Ghost be ever 
in your hearts. 

Rome, the General's House, February 25, 1917. 

BROTHER CLEMENT 

OF STS. FAUSTINUS AND JOVITUS, 

Praepositus General. 

(L. S.) BROTHER ELIAS OF ST. AMBROSE, 

Secretary. 

N. B. — Alms may be sent to our Very Reverend Father Postu- 
lator: Molto Reverendo Padre Rodrigo di S. Francesco di Paolo, 
Postluatore dei Carmelitani Scalsi, S. Maria della Vittoria, Roma 
(Italia). 



DECREE 

Referring to Antwerp and Malines, concerning the Beatification 
and Canonization of the Venerable Servant of God, Sister Anne of 
St. Bartholomew, professed Nun of the Order of Discalced Carmel- 
ites, in regard to the query : Whether there have been any miracles 
in the case, what kind they were, and whether they tend to the 
result of which there is question? 

Whoever wishes rightly to know who Sister Anne of St. Bar- 
tholomew was, and with what great and splendid virtues she was 
adorned, cannot be better informed than by the famous Virgin of 
Avila, St. Teresa. For Sister Anne was her most beloved and insep- 
arable companion, the sharer in her plans, the co-worker in her 
undertakings. 

Hence it is that, since the one cannot easily be separated from 
the other, this apostolic decree, though it has reference to the dis- 
ciple and daughter in the spiritual life, at the same time seems in 
some way to pertain to the mother and mistress and framer of the 
Rule. Among the Saint's far-famed sayings, sayings full of heav- 
enly wisdom, this one stands out prominently : ''God alone is 
enough and more than enough." This saying is most apropos in 
our own times because it goes down to the root of the numberless 
evils of our day, its bitter trials, its desolation and carnage. For 
by the rejection and neglect of the principles of the supernatural 
order and of Christian life, the greatest bulwark of justice has 
been taken away. Little wonder, then, if the human mind, filled 
with the poison of perverse opinions, should see itself and every- 
thing shrouded in darkness, after it has once departed from the 
right road. 

Christ Jesus, who repaired the fault of humankind, well knew 
whilst on earth how to adapt the remedies most suitable to 
His times. Now, too, He so directed the course of events that the 
two cures here mentioned — one a cerebral disorder, the other a 
troublesome intestinal disease — have been rescued from the obliv- 
ion of the two or three centuries which have elapsed since their 
occurrence and are now become known and confirmed in the light 
of modern medical science, as if to show that error must first be 
rejected and the mind made sound in order that life may pulsate 
through the entire body. 

Indeed, the proofs on which both occurrences rest, far from 
becoming old with the progress of time or being affected by cor- 
roding rust, have remained the same as they were when they were 
first judicially examined. For scarcely three or five years had 
elapsed since the two cures had occurred at the intercession with 
God of His faithful servant. Venerable Anne of St. Bartholomew. 
It was right, then, that the testimony of eye-witnesses should be 

xi 



Decree for Beatification 

heard and weighed, among them that of the two who were cured, 
Father Leopold and the Queen of France, as well as the deposi- 
tions of physicians and others who saw with their own eyes the 
cures take place. Proofs were gathered at an opportune time from 
this source in full accordance with the law regarding inquiry into 
miracles and were preserved at that time and are still on hand. 
Moreover, from the series of judicial acts and the authority of 
illustrious men, skilled in their profession, which are contained 
in these proofs, it is clear that there was question of a true miracle 
in both cases. 

They, indeed, not only by their extrinsic testimony, but also 
by means of weighty and persuasive arguments, tried especially 
to show that the diseases which had attacked Father Leopold and 
the Queen of France consisted in some organic or, as they call it, 
anatomical and pathological lesion. When they had, as it were, 
laid this foundation, the same experienced men then proceeded to 
inquire into and consider the manner in which the disease was 
entirely removed, both in the case of Father Leopold and the 
Queen of France, as it is described in the acts, and when they 
found out for certain that the cure had been sudden or instan- 
taneous and perfect, they could not but immediately acknowledge 
and openly confess that these two wonderful cures transcended 
the powers of nature. 

Nothing is more correct or more manifest than the judgment 
of these men, skilled as they were in their art. One need not be 
a philosopher or a doctor or a surgeon or an expert in other phys- 
ical sciences to reach that same conclusion ; for this, ordinary com- 
mon sense is sufficient. Moreover, any man of the people, taught 
by the experience of daily life where he has never seen nor ever 
could see a serious and chronic malady, though not of itself in- 
curable, fully and completely removed in a moment of time, with 
all accompanying injuries repaired, and so repaired that they 
seemed never to have existed, would, if such an event were to 
occur, be immediately filled with the greatest wonder, be over- 
come with amazement, and be forced in an irresistible way to cry 
out, perhaps even against his will, ''This is a miracle!" 

In order that all, even those ignorant of medical science, might 
easily and plainly see the truth of both of these miracles, a long, 
severe and exact discussion was held about the matter, first in the 
ante-preparatory Congregation, then in two subsequent prepara- 
tory Congregations, and lastly in a General Congregation, held on 
the 30th day of last January, in the presence of our Most Holy 
Father Pope Benedict XV. In this Congregation, the Most Rev- 
erend Cardinal Antonio Vico, the relator of the cause, proposed the 
following question for discussion : "Have there been any miracles 
in the case, what kind were they, and do they tend to the result 
of which there is question?" The Most Reverend Cardinals and 
Fathers Consultors voted one by one in order; but Our Holy 
Father, according to custom, postponed his supreme decision in 

xii 



Decree for Beatification 

order to give himself and those present time to implore help and 
illumination from the Father of Light. 

On this first Sunday in Lent, however, after celebrating Mass 
most devoutly, he summoned the Most Reverend Cardinal Anto- 
nio Vico, Bishop of Portuensis and St. Rufina, Pro-Prefect of the 
Congregation of Rites, and relator of the cause, together with Rev- 
erend Father Angelo Maria, Promoter of the Faith, and myself, the 
undersigned Secretary, and in our presence solemnly declared that 
both are true miracles; namely, the first, the instantaneous and 
perfect cure of a chronic cerebral abscess, accompanied by symp- 
toms of hyperemia and meningitis, in the case of Father Leopold 
of St. John the Baptist ; and the second, the instantaneous and 
perfect cure of Mary, Queen of France, from prolonged typhoid 
fever, with immediate restoration of strength. 

On the 25th day of February, 1917, he commanded that this 
decree become part of the public law and be placed in the acts of 
the Congregation of Sacred Rites. 

ANTONIO, CARDINAL VICO, 
Bishop of Portuensis and St. Rufina, Pro- 
Prefect of the Congregation of Sacred Rites. 

(L.S.) ALEXANDER VERDE, S.R.C., 

Secretary. 



Xlll 



PREFACE 

May God reward the Nuns of the Carmel of St. Louis for this 
translation of the life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew, the 
first English version. It is a precious gift to the multitudes who 
otherwise would lack an entirely integral understanding of their 
beloved patroness, St. Teresa. The style is bright and lucid, the 
tone as fervent as Father Bouix's original. As to the subject- 
matter, it is, in every part, of absorbing interest. That "no man 
is great to his valet," has become a proverb. Not so when the 
great one is a Saint and the intimate associate is a saintly disciple. 

The last twelve years of St. Teresa's life were stormy ones. 
From the foundation of her first monastery at Avila, amid a furi- 
ously militant antagonism, until she had founded her last mon- 
astery at Burgos, amid opposition peculiarly agonizing — six 
months before her death — this hero among religious founders 
was almost incessantly buffeted by enemies, some devilish, not 
a few pious but sadly misguided. And, although she had many 
hours of tranquil interior joy, yet there were just as many which 
paralleled the Apostle's state of soul: "Combats without, fears 
within." (II Cor., VII :5.) 

Now the subject of this Life, this strong and beautiful soul, 
Sister Anne of St. Bartholomew, was St. Teresa's close companion 
during her later and most eventful years ; indeed, so close to her 
in body and soul as to be a perfectly competent witness of not 
only all outward happenings, but also of many of her visions and 
revelations. Her narrative leads us to the fragrant borders of the 
Saint's paradise ; this is Sister Anne's most precious gift. She was 
not an hour absent from the Holy Mother during six almost trag- 
ical months between the end of the Saint's Burgos foundation in 
the early Spring of 1582 and the seraphic end of her life the fol- 
lowing October. Hence it is not too much to claim for this book 
that it is a necessary complement to St. Teresa's published writ- 
ings ; this is peculiarly true of her autobiography, which Sister 
Anne extends and completes to the Saint's expiring breath. 
Besides this unique excellence, the volume is a minute study at 
close hand of the holiness of Anne herself, who, simple lay-Sister 
though she was, was one of the best examples of the Saint's train- 
ing of souls to Christian and religious perfection. 

Between our Lord and St. John this is the inspired statement 
of relationship : "The disciple whom Jesus loved." (John XIX :26.) 
Much the same might be said of the union between St. Teresa 
and Sister Anne, to whom she prophesied two days before she 
died: "Daughter, the hour of my departure is coming." Anne 
tells us in this book that she never left St. Teresa's bedside after 
that except once. It was when the Father Confessor bade Anne 

xiv 



Preface 

go and take some nourishment. Teresa missed her immediately ; 
it was as if her angel had left her; she glanced from one face to 
another around the room as if searching for somebody. Anne 
presently returned, and the Saint's face lit up with joy, and she 
reached out for her. Then Teresa laid her head in Anne's arms. 
There it remained till she breathed her soul into the embrace of 
her Divine Spouse. 

When Anne perceived that Teresa's death was near at hand, 
she longed and prayed that it might yet be delayed. And suddenly 
Christ appeared ; the vision was granted for the Saint indeed, but 
Anne was privileged to share it with her. Our Savior appeared 
in great majesty, and many angels with Him. After a few min- 
utes Teresa gently expired, and the vision faded away. Whilst it 
lasted Anne had prayed that the Saint's death might rather be 
hastened than delayed, for she had seen her eternal glory in God. 

During the process for the Saint's canonization it was testified 
under oath, by the others who were present at the death scenes, 
that during Teresa's last moments Anne's face shone with such 
heavenly luster that in spite of themselves their eyes were drawn 
away from Teresa to gaze upon Anne, marveling that her face 
and form should reflect the dawning splendor of the Saint's eternal 
glory. 

She had also been a plentiful partaker of Teresa's heavenly 
wisdom, receiving during the last era of her life not a few of her 
characteristic teachings. As Anne was the latest of her disciples, 
she was every way one of the most appreciative. It was her singu- 
lar privilege to enjoy — all too painfully — her deepest confidence 
during the sorrowful journey from Burgos to Alba de Tormes, 
amid bodily perils of a peculiarly critical kind, and the shame of 
expulsion, as it must rightly be called, from the two Carmels of 
Valladolid and Medina del Campo, who owed their existence to 
her, and whose Sisters she had trained in the religious life — a lurid 
glare of bitterest penance preceding the bright twilight of her 
evening hours. 

To know St. Teresa thoroughly well, one must have this Life 
of Sister Anne. 

WALTER ELLIOTT, C.S.P. 



XV 



PREFACE 

The virgin whose life, written by herself, you are about to read, 
had a double mission to fill. God had chosen her first to be the 
inseparable companion of St. Teresa during the last years of her 
life, and afterwards to be one of the Foundresses of Carmel in 
France and Belgium. 

Let us take a brief look at this double mission. It was the 
Divine Master Himself who prepared this virgin for the charitable 
ministrations she was to fulfill towards St. Teresa. He wished 
to be. Himself, her only Master and Guide until the moment when 
He would confide to her the charge and the care of the seraphic 
Teresa. The pages of the First Book of this Life present to us the 
ravishing picture of this spiritual education, where there was no 
intermediary between God and the soul. For the sanctification of 
the Reformer of Carmel, and that of her Coadjutrix in the work 
of the foundations, it pleased the Divine Master to associate with 
Himself two holy persons: to Teresa He gave, as guide, Father 
Balthasar Alvarez, and to Anne of Jesus, Father Pierre Rodriguez, 
S.J. ; for seven years He left both under the guidance of these 
directors after His own heart. But for the sanctification of Anne 
of St. Bartholomew He wished to act alone, and He anticipated 
the usual time. Scarcely had this angelic creature reached the 
age of three years when He gave her the first lesson ; He opened 
the heavens above her, and showed Himself to her, allowing a ray 
of His divinity to shine forth. The light she received at that 
moment regarding the greatness and sanctity of God remained 
present with her all her life. The Divine Master continued to 
instruct her ; during her childhood He appeared to her in the form 
of a child, and as she advanced in age He seemed to grow with 
her. By His frequent apparitions He enkindled in this upright 
soul a love which never ceased to consume her. Properly speak- 
ing. He was always to be her guide ; during the course of her long 
life, this privileged virgin was never to seek for interior direction 
but from the Master of her childhood and youth. Therefore, if 
Teresa and Anne of Jesus said in all justice and truth, "It was the 
company of Jesus that gave me life and being, that formed and 
trained me," Anne of St. Bartholomew could say with the same jus- 
tice and truth : "It is the Chief Himself of this company who 
formed and trained me: Me had criado y dado el ser!' 

To form an idea of the treasures of grace with which our Lord 
must have enriched this virgin, we must consider what St. Teresa 
was at the time when the Divine Master gave her Anne of St. Bar- 
tholomew as her inseparable companion. It was during the last 
years of the Reformer of Carmel. She was perfected in sanctity. 
Nearly fifteen years had passed since the cherub had pierced her 

xvi 



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heart with his dart. She had heard from the mouth of the Divine 
Master these words — highest mark of His love in this life: 
"Henceforth, as My true spouse, you will care for My honor. 
Deinceps ut vera sponsa, Meum zelabis honoremfi." This seraphic 
virgin, all burning, ascended from rapture to rapture in the fire of 
divine love. Most remarkable favors, most exalted visions, fol- 
lowed, and with these a prodigious increase in interior grace and 
charity. The state of her soul was that which she describes in 
the Sixth and Seventh Mansion of her Interior Castle; enjoying 
habitually in her soul the presence of our Lord and the intellectual 
vision of the Most Holy Trinity. Such was the height of sanctity 
to which St. Teresa had attained, when the Divine Master confided 
the care of her person to Anne of St. Bartholomew. To approach 
this Holy of Holies, this living tabernacle, it needed the purity of 
an angel and the love of a seraph. The Divine Master had en- 
graven these two characteristics in her soul. Anne was one of the 
most angelic and seraphic virgins of her century. Not only the 
light of baptismal innocence shone in her with unalterable and 
ever-increasing brilliancy until her last sigh, but in her delightful 
uprightness and holy ignorance she did not, in some way, know 
the difference between herself and an angel, except for the advan- 
tage she had over an angel by being able to crucify her body and 
offer it to Jesus Christ as a holocaust of penance. From the time 
of her baptism until that of her entrance into heaven, her flesh, 
according to the beautiful expression of Tertullian, was angelic 
flesh — ''angelificata caro.*' As for the flames of divine love which 
consumed her heart, she has painted them herself in her life. 

This is the one who was chosen and prepared by the Divine 
Master to be the inseparable companion and, as it were, visible 
angel of St. Teresa. She had the privilege of leaving her neither 
by day nor night, of lavishing her care upon her, preparing her 
food, washing her linen, and dressing her; for her arm, broken 
three times, refused her all service; in fine, taking care of all that 
concerned her person. She shared all the fatigues of her journeys 
and the labors of her last foundations, which were the most trying 
of all. When the pilgrimage of this great Saint was reaching its 
end, her inseparable companion showed herself more worthy than 
ever of the mission which she fulfilled towards her ; the tenderness 
of her charity was shown in the most touching manner. During 
the journey from Burgos to Alba her heart was pierced by 
the sufferings which she beheld the seraphic Mother enduring. 
But during her last sickness at Alba, and, above all, from the time 
she learned from her own mouth that her last hour had come, she 
experienced a real interior agony at the thought of the separation. 
However, hiding this martyrdom, and unfailing in charity, she was 
on her feet night and day, never far from the Saint, and giving 
herself scarcely time to take, in passing, some mouthfuls of bread 
to sustain her. 

Before the holy Mother entered into the ecstasy of fourteen 
hours, which was to anticipate for her the clear vision of God, 

xvii 



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Anne hastened to prepare her for the eternal nuptials. Let us 
listen now to her own words: "The day on which she died I 
changed everything on her — linen, sleeves, headdress and tunic. 
She looked herself over completely, and was quite pleased to see 
how neat she was, and, turning her eyes towards me, she looked 
at me, smiling, making known by signs her gratitude. Thus the 
seraphic virgin was adorned to appear before her Spouse." 

On the 4th of October, Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, at seven 
o'clock in the morning, having her dear companion beside her, she 
rested on her poor couch like a queen on her throne ; supported in 
the arms of Anne of St. Bartholomew, her head resting on her 
heart, she entered into the highest ecstasy of her entire life; and 
after this prolonged foretaste of the Beatific Vision, it was from 
the arms of her companion that she finally took her flight to 
heaven. 

Anne, virgin dearly beloved of Christ, how great thou art, and 
how touching in this scene ! Thou boldest on thy heart Teresa, 
resplendent in glory, and thou givest her back to the Divine Spouse 
who comes to seek her with His saints and His angels. Thou hast 
become dear to the whole Church; and all those who will cherish 
filial devotion for the seraphic Teresa will love thee for all that 
thou hast done for her. Carmel, thy family, will cherish thee with 
the most tender blessings. But who can ever understand how 
Jesus Christ and Teresa will repay thee for this great work of 
charity! Be inundated with happiness, for, in return, neither one 
nor the other will ever again avert their looks from thee. 

Anne of St. Bartholomew is known to us as the companion of 
St. Teresa. Let us consider her now as a Foundress. 

For this second mission three qualities must be united in her: 
holiness, the spirit of her Order, authority. We will now see in 
how eminent a degree the Divine Master granted them to her. 

As we have seen, He was. Himself, the guide of this angelic 
creature from the age of three years until her entrance into Carmel. 
As this soul possessed wonderful purity, she gained more and more 
the predilection of the Divine Master, and received from Him every 
day new treasures of grace. From the time of her entrance into 
Carmel until her departure for France, He continued to be her 
guide. During the ten years that He placed her in such intimate 
contact with St. Teresa it pleased Him to embrace these two souls 
together as one : Anne, near Teresa and under the guidance of the 
Divine Master, flew rather than walked in the ways of holiness. 
Gifted with the most signal favors, she responded by heroic fidel- 
ity; from this time there was no limit to the graces of the Divine 
Master nor to the munificence of His gifts. The ties were drawn 
closer and closer; the Adorable Master, who guarded her as the 
apple of His eye, no longer left her, assisted her always, and took 
a paternal care of her soul. One may judge to what sanctity she 
was raised. 

As to the spirit of her Order, the Divine Master had placed the 
germ in her soul in her tenderest years ; so much so that when she 

xviii 



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entered Carmel it seemed to her that she had passed all her life 
there. But He completely developed this germ by making her the 
inseparable companion of St. Teresa. Anne, living in the most 
intimate manner with the Foundress, witness of her actions, enjoy- 
ing her conversation, following her in her journeys and the founda- 
tion of her monasteries, drank in unceasingly the spirit of Carmel 
from the most pure and elevated source — I dare to say, from the 
heart even of the seraphic Teresa. After the Saint's death she 
lived in the monasteries she had founded and with her first daugh- 
ters ; and for twenty-two years she witnessed the Constitutions of 
Carmel applied and practised by them. Therefore, when in 1604 
she arrived in France, she had observed this holy Institute during 
thirty-four years, in the company of St. Teresa as well as in that 
of her first daughters. As for the distinctive characteristic of this 
Order, that which is the soul of Carmel — I mean to say, apostolic 
zeal — the Divine Master had deeply engraved it in her. Her heart 
admirably resembled, in apostolic fervor, the heart of St. Teresa. 
She tells us, herself, in her Life, how far this flame consumed her 
in this world. With such sanctity, and so filled with the spirit of 
the Order, what must have been her authority when she appeared 
at the head of the monasteries in France ! How must souls have 
been impressed by her title of "Companion of St. Teresa," her 
thirty-five years of religious life, virtues practised to a heroic 
degree, the extraordinary graces which the Divine Master unceas- 
ingly showered upon her, her high prayer, her ecstasies, her pro- 
phetic lights and the gift of miracles ! What holy respect must not 
the ravishing modesty of this virgin have inspired, her truly angelic 
bearing, the unchanging serenity of her countenance, and the 
impress of the penance of half a century visible on her features ! 
But, above all, what a sweet and irresistible ascendency was given 
her over souls by the love which God, at the most tender age, 
enkindled in her heart, and which had only increased during all 
those years. This Divine love shone forth in her looks and in her 
person. Finally the Divine Master gave her, as to Judith, a splen- 
dor of sanctity which made her all-powerful over hearts. This 
Adorable Master, who delighted in her, directed her in everything, 
instructed her, consoled her, encouraged her, and often favored 
her with His presence. St. Teresa, from the height of her glory, 
became in her turn the inseparable companion of the one who had 
so tenderly assisted her on earth ; she lightened the burden of her 
charge; she exercised with her the office of Prioress; she made 
her, in some way, enjoy in France, as in Spain, the happiness of 
living in her holy company. We will hear Anne of St. Bartholo- 
mew telling us in the account of her Life: "It was the seraphic 
Mother who did all." 

There is no cause for surprise at the prodigies which marked 
the career of Anne of St. Bartholomew as Foundress. The first 
monastery she founded was that of Pontoise. Let us listen to her 
speaking to us herself of the virgins she had formed to the reli- 
gious life: 

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Preface 

"Our Lord kept me in the Carmel of Pontoise as if in a heaven. 
It pained me, after having so long trained them, to separate my- 
self from these souls, who seemed to be angels. The Divine 
Master did not allow them to touch the earth. He carried them, 
as it were, in His arms, so much consolation and spiritual joy did 
He lavish on them." 

Such is the historical portrait of the Carmel of Pontoise left 
us by the Foundress. How interesting is the biography of these 
virgins! What an angelic spouse of Christ and how holy a char- 
acter is that of Charlotte du Pucheul ; so rich in treasures of grace 
from her most tender years as to call forth the admiration of 
St. Francis de Sales. What a heroine was Valence de Marillac, 
destined one day to see her father die in prison and her uncle 
perish on the scaffold, but obtaining for both the grace to make 
to God the sacrifice of their lives, with the faith and calmness of 
martyrs. Among the virgins who made the Carmel of Pontoise 
illustrious, the character which rises above all the others is that 
of the Blessed Mary of the Incarnation. She entered this retreat 
sanctified by Anne of St. Bartholomew, to spread abroad the last 
perfumes of her holy life. There, from the height of the altar where 
the Church has placed her, she will keep intact in this convent the 
traditions left by the companion of St. Teresa. 

Tours, the city of St. Martin, was to have the glory of pos- 
sessing a community of the daughters of St. Teresa. This was 
the second monastery founded by Anne of St. Bartholomew. God 
caused His prodigies to be manifested there. St. Teresa appeared 
to Anne of St. Bartholomew, when from Paris she turned her 
steps towards Touraine. She promised her her assistance. Car- 
mel, though scarcely founded, shone with such brilliant sanctity 
that the heretics, who were numerous in the city, were not slow 
to send forth this cry of despair : "The Teresians will end by con- 
verting us all." From the very day of the foundation the Divine 
Master wished to manifest to His faithful servant how agreeable 
this new monastery was to Him, and made her the most consoling 
promises regarding those who were to occupy it during the course 
of centuries. But it is to the very words of Blessed Mother Anne 
of St. Bartholomew that we must listen now: 

"The Sunday following the Ascension, the day on which the 
Most Blessed Sacrament was placed in the Monastery of Tours, 
while I was preparing for Communion, I asked our Lord that 
this beginning should be accomplished by His grace, and that with 
this grace He would deign to assist us who were present, and all 
who should come after until the end. Then my Adorable Master 
gave me positive assurance that He would do so, and that He 
granted my request." 

Happy the community of daughters of St. Teresa, sheltered 
under the crosier and the tomb of the great St. Martin. Supported 
by such a promise from the Divine Master, with what courage 
they should combat and offer themselves in sacrifice for the sal- 
vation of souls. 

XX 



Preface 

This monastery of Tours soon gave forth such a perfume of 
sanctity, and enjoyed so great renown throughout the entire coun- 
try, that the most desirable subjects, the flower of the nobility, 
came to place themselves under the guidance of Anne of St. Bar- 
tholomew. God blessed the direction of His servant. This con- 
vent was to be a centre from which light was to be spread abroad. 
Several who shared the spirit of Anne of St. Bartholomew 
were to leave the Carmel of Tours to found other monasteries. 
The noble families of Quatrebarbes and of Montalembert were to 
be represented in this Carmel, and it was Elizabeth de Quatre- 
barbes who was to leave Tours for Beaune to lead in the ways of 
sanctity Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament, whom France is 
striving today to place on the altar. 

Anne of St. Bartholomew established the spiritual edifice with 
which she gifted the City of St. Martin on such firm foundations 
that the revolutionary tempest of the last century was unable to 
make the least breach. One of the community was eighty-seven 
years of age and deprived of sight ; this was Venerable Mother 
Amable : a victim of inhuman treatment, she rejoiced and had the 
glory of dying in prison for the faith of Jesus Christ. Soon some 
of their number were condemned to death. They were to be taken 
to Issoudem, there to be shot. They exulted with celestial joy at 
the prospect of martyrdom. They had started on their way, but 
God, who had witnessed the preparation of their hearts, left them 
the merit of martyrdom and delivered them miraculously from 
the hands of their enemies. These virgins, rather angels, re- 
turned to Tours to make themselves prisoners with their Sisters. 
In prison they kept living and intact the spirit of Carmel. And 
when liberty was restored to Catholic worship, they lived, at first 
scattered in the city, preserving inviolable obedience to their Prior- 
ess; and afterwards returning with delight to their former home. 
The customs had not been interrupted ; therefore, the beauty of 
Carmel was seen to flourish again in the monastery as if it had 
just come from the government of the Foundress. In the middle 
of this century this convent full of the primitive sap has given to 
the Church and the world Sister St. Pierre, whose life will furnish 
one of the most attractive pages of the history of Carmel. She 
appears there with her aureole of miraculous graces, holding in 
her hand the banner of reparation. For it is to her the arch-con- 
fraternity for the reparation of blasphemy and the violation of 
Sunday owes its existence. The Perpetual Reparation founded 
by Mile. Dubouchet, and the Nocturnal Adoration, also owe her 
their origin. Taken away at thirty-one years of age, this virgin 
has left by her passage on earth a luminous track and imperish- 
able monuments of her zeal. 

It was at Antwerp that the apostolic work of Anne of St. Bar- 
tholomew was to finish ; Antwerp was to be the crown of her 
foundations. Teresa, by the hand of her companion, was to 
plant her banner in this city; the pride of the Netherlands, the 
metropolis of her commerce, of her printing-houses; celebrated 

xxi 



Preface 

for its antiquity, for its great men ; rich in so many religious won- 
ders and illustrious souvenirs; the country of Rubens and Van 
Dyck, the cradle of the Bollandists, who by their Acta Sanctorum 
have given to their country a national glory that the rest of the 
world envies. 

Even in Spain God had revealed to Anne of St. Bartholomew 
that she would only be seven years in France ; and that the Nether- 
lands would possess the last years of her life. While she was still 
at Tours our Lord showed her the house at Antwerp where she 
would soon go to found a new monastery, and the first novice she 
would receive. 

On the 6th of October, 1611, she left Paris and proceeded to 
Mons, where she spent one year. There the Divine Master made 
known to her the mission she was to fulfill in these new states ; 
He showed her the foundation at Antwerp, as a great torch, a 
resplendent light which was to shine through all the neighboring 
countries. 

Encouraged by this revelation of the Divine Master, Anne of 
St. Bartholomew started forward without delay. She greeted, at 
Marimont, the Archduke Albert and the Infanta Clare Isabel- 
Eugenie, who had earnestly desired to see her and lavished upon 
her proofs of their veneration. She stopped several days at 
Brussels, where Anne of Jesus received her with open arms ; it 
was a family feast. On the 29th of October, 1612, she left Brus- 
sels with the companions who had accompanied her from Mons. 
Arriving at Antwerp, she was received with honor by a son of 
St. Francis Borgia. Don Ignatius Borgia and Dona Helena, his 
wife, offered her hospitality in their palace. The entire city con- 
sidered themselves happy in possessing her. Finally, on the 6th 
of November, 1612, the monastery was founded. St. Teresa, by 
means of her companion, took possession of the great Flemish 
city. What the Fathers of the Company of Jesus had done in 
Spain for St. Teresa in her foundations, the Jesuits of Antwerp 
did for Anne of St. Bartholomew; the same willingness for all 
sorts of good offices. 

On the 21st of November, Feast of the Presentation of the 
Blessed Virgin, the first novice. Mile, de Dompre, whom the 
Divine Master had shown her in a vision in France, received from 
Mother Anne the holy habit; the Archbishop of Cambrai, her 
uncle, performed the ceremony; and Anne of St. Bartholomew 
gave her the beautiful name of Teresa of Jesus. 

Among the most noble benefactresses of this monastery was 
the Duchess of Bournonville, one of the many Christian women of 
her century. She had so high an esteem of the holiness of Mother 
Anne of St. Bartholomew that, in order to enjoy seeing her, and 
profit by her conversations and counsels, she obtained from the 
Pope permission to enter the monastery six times a year with her 
daughters. It was during one of these visits that the holy 
Foundress, looking tenderly at the little Anne-Eugenie de Bour- 
nonville, said to the duchess: "Madam, this one will some day 

xxii 



Preface 

be my daughter." In 1643, seventeen years after the death of the 
servant of God, her prophecy was verified ; Mile. Anne-Eugenie de 
Bournonville took, at the Carmel of Antwerp, together with the 
holy habit, the name of Anne-Eugenie of St. Bartholomew. Later 
she governed this monastery ; and she was the first to write its 
Annals. 

In 1657 the Duchess of Bournonville, after the death of the 
duke, her spouse, took the holy habit at the age of sixty-six 
years. And, as still can be seen to-day by the formula of her pro- 
fession, signed by her own hand and preserved at the Carmel of 
Antwerp, the Princess d'Epinay, granddaughter of the Mont- 
morency, the Duchess of Bournonville, giving up all her titles, 
made it her highest ambition to be called Sister Anne-Francis of 
St. Joseph. Finally, in 1660, full of days and merit, she finished 
her life in sanctity. Her daughter closed her eyes, and leaves us 
her historical portrait. 

The fourteen last years of the life of Anne of St. Bartholomew 
were passed at Antwerp. The Carmelites she formed were worthy 
of such a mistress of the spiritual life. St. Teresa was pleased 
with this monastery, which was a true copy of St. Joseph of Avila. 
The servant of God was there as if in a paradise of grace. The 
pages she has written about this part of her life show us with what 
an abundance of gifts and with what tender love the Divine Master 
favored her. It was for her like a foretaste of the beatific life. 
Owing to the wonderful favors, visions and apparitions with which 
her Divine Spouse honored her, she lived less on the earth than in 
the abode of the blessed, so that it may be said that during the 
last part of her life she was raised with the flight of a seraph to 
that height of sanctity which was to place her in heaven near 
St. Teresa. The Divine Master was pleased to make these mag- 
nificent interior graces shine forth exteriorly. His faithful servant 
often appeared completely transfigured and as if crowned with 
rays of light in her raptures and ecstasies. A perfume of holiness 
emanated from her person, and the majesty of the living God, 
who was within her, gave her an august and dignified bearing. 
The gift of miracles and prophecy, added to this, caused her to 
be regarded as a Saint. Here is one of her prophetic lights : 

One day, ravished in ecstasy, she was carried in spirit to the 
college of the Company of Jesus. There she witnessed the won- 
drously beautiful death of Father John Chailant. He was a reli- 
gious renowned for sanctity, with whom the Blessed Mother 
had been intimate, from whom her soul derived the greatest con- 
solation. She saw him seated in his cell, his hands raised to 
heaven and his face radiant. She then appeared to him. The 
happy son of St. Ignatius looked at her and said: "St. John the 
Evangelist has just been here, and has brought me good news, 
such that none better could be wished for: it is that I am to 
depart this very hour for heaven." Having said these words, his 
soul went to be immediately united with God. It was discovered 
that the holy religious expired at the very hour when the Blessed 

xxiii 



Preface 

Mother was in ecstasy, and in the position in which she had be- 
held him. 

He who exalts the humble delighted to glorify her in the eyes 
of the Church. Her power with God was known not only in the 
Netherlands, but also throughout all Europe. The great ones of 
the earth, princes and kings, recommended themselves to her. The 
immortal daughter of Philip II, the Infanta Clare-Isabel Eugenie, 
who governed the Netherlands, esteemed her as a Saint already 
canonized. With what faith this illustrious princess, bending the 
knee before her, kissed her hand, and asked her blessing. She 
consulted her on all important affairs, often wrote to her with her 
own hand, and was intimate with her. When she left for Breda, 
stopping at Antwerp, she wished to enter the convent three times 
to see the Blessed Mother, and remained several hours with her, 
thus showing the faith and devotion she had in her prayers. Bid- 
ding her good-bye, she begged her blessing. She wished, more- 
over, at the door of the convent, that the holy Prioress should 
bless all the grandees of the court, that no evil should molest them 
in the expedition to Breda. She said to them, therefore, in a loud 
voice : ''Receive the blessing of Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew, 
who will be your assurance and safeguard against every peril." 

With knees bent to the ground and heads inclined, they re- 
ceived it with this firm belief, and a few days later Breda was in 
the hands of the Infanta. 

The faith of this princess in the sanctity and power of Anne 
of St. Bartholomew, with God, was shown in the reply she made 
to one of her subjects who advised her to fortify the citadel and 
town of Antwerp : ''I do not fear either for the town or the citadel 
since Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew is there : she is a stronger 
defense than all armies united. " 

So noble and entire a confidence was justified in a most striking 
manner. Twice the holy guardian of Antwerp delivered the city 
from the invasion of the Hollanders. It was this merited for her 
the glorious title of Deliverer of Antwerp. It was in this great 
city that the term of her pilgrimage closed. On the 7th of June, 
1626, Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, this seraphic spouse of the 
God of virgins left her exile in the seventy-sixth year of her age 
and took flight to her heavenly country. The last moments of this 
well-beloved of the Lord, as will be seen at the end of this work, 
presents one of the most majestic and touching scenes that the 
eye of a Christian could contemplate. Her funeral was a real 
triumph. Every great one in the Netherlands was either present 
in person or represented by another. The inhabitants of Antwerp 
surrounded this coffin as of one who was a Mother, a Saint, their 
protectress in heaven. Thus this Labradorcilla, this humble shep- 
herdess, received honors which surpassed those that would be 
given to the daughter of a king. It was because they discovered 
in her still higher titles : in this humble virgin Faith bowed before 
the heroic and seraphic spouse of Christ. To the eyes of faith, her 
white mantle was the royal mantle of sanctity; the linen that 

xxiv 



Preface 

bound her forehead was the diadem of a virgin seated in glory 
next to the King of Kings. This is why they could not tire of 
looking upon her, lavishing upon her marks of veneration, and 
recommending themselves to her influence with God. She was 
thus glorified, because in the Church she was a column by her 
faith, a torch by her sanctity, and one of the most apostolic women 
of her century by the greatness of her zeal. The miracles which 
took place, after her last sigh, attest the glory she enjoys with 
God; and these miracles have continued up to our own days. A 
century after her death, the 29th of June, 1735, Pope Clement XII 
proclaimed, by a solemn decree, the heroicity of her virtues. In 
these later times steps have been taken for her beatification. But 
the moment marked by God has not yet come ; the infinite wisdom 
of God has not, perhaps, found minds disposed to receive the bless- 
ing of her beatification. 

Towards the end of the last century Madam Louise de France, 
Prioress of the Carmel of St. Denis, writing to Pope Pius VI, 
recommended to him with most filial earnestness the causes of 
Mary of the Incarnation, Anne of Jesus, and Anne of St. Bar- 
tholomew, wishing to see all three raised to the altar. Pius VI 
made this reply: "We recognize more and more how the interests 
of religion touch you, and that you live only for the glory of God. 
We will beg of Him to guide us by His spirit of counsel and wis- 
dom to do that which He wills of us for His glory, for, you know 
full well, the issue of an affair of such consequence to the Church 
is not in the power of any human will.'* 

No; canonization is not in the power of any human will. Of 
the three servants of God named above, one only, Mary of the 
Incarnation, was placed in the ranks of the Blessed by Pius VI, 
the 10th of April, 1791. God willed that the Carmel of France 
should be the first to be glorified, and that the first Blessed of the 
Order, after St. Teresa, should be a French Carmelite. God proved 
by this that the Carmel of France, with the style of government 
given it by the Holy See, possesses as much as any Carmel of the 
world the conditions necessary for leading souls to sanctity. 

As for the venerable servants of God, Anne of Jesus and Anne 
of St. Bartholomew, Pius VI thought right to await new lights 
before placing them on the altar. Let us hope that his successors 
will, in the near future, accede to the wishes of St. Teresa's chil- 
dren. May the Life that we publish hasten this happy moment. 

It now remains for us to speak of the Autobiography of the 
Venerable Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew. What painter could 
ever have succeeded in portraying this figure? What historian 
could have found words to relate this life, miraculous from the 
cradle to the grave? 

The Divine Master has overcome all difficulties : He has done 
for Anne of St. Bartholomew what He did for St. Teresa. Wish- 
ing that the extraordinary graces with which He had endowed 
these two virgins should be known in His Church, He placed the 
pen in their hands and ordered them to write ; He willed that their 

XXV 



Preface 

portraits should be drawn by themselves, in order that they might 
be the faithful expression of the sanctity and celestial beauty of 
their souls. Anne has, therefore, obeyed like Teresa; she has 
written her own Life; this book still exists in manuscript, reli- 
giously preserved at the Carmel of Antwerp, where it was com- 
posed. It is the real life, the interior life, of the Venerable Servant 
of God, the recital of the graces and mercies she received from 
God from the time of her most tender childhood at Almendral, 
the place of her birth, until her last years at Antwerp, where she 
finished her career. 

This precious treasure has been preserved until this day; these 
pages in the Castilian language, written by this great servant of 
God, have never been printed. It is this unpublished work, so 
full of heavenly unction, that we offer today to the public, and 
in particular to the daughters of St. Teresa. 

The precious autograph, which seems to have been written but 
yesterday so admirably is it preserved, was placed in our hands 
by the Carmel of Antwerp; and it is this autograph that we 
translate. 

Our Commentary and Historical Notes accompany the text of 
the Venerable Servant of God. Among other sources we draw from 
the Manuscript Chronicles of the Convents she founded. This 
Life will be one of the complements of our works on St. Teresa.* 

From the beginning, the present work entered into the plan 
we proposed to ourselves. We wished to offer this homage to 
St. Teresa, certain that it would be accepted by her. Therefore, 
the thought of this publication came entirely from us and our 
devotion to St. Teresa and her inseparable companion. But, as 
soon as we had made known our intention to the Carmels founded 
by the Venerable Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew, this idea was 
greeted with all the transports of filial piety ; they showed a noble 
ambition to aid us, and their archives were placed at our disposal. 
The Monastery of Antwerp, the most privileged of all, because 
it held the body of the Venerable Anne, and possessed besides the 
autograph of her Life, her other writings and a great number of 
letters, offered us all the assistance we could desire. The Prioress 
of this convent, a descendant of the illustrious house Delia Faille, 
with the exquisite courtesy due to her birth and to which the title 
of Daughter of St. Teresa had added a peculiar distinction, con- 
fided to us the autographs and the manuscripts of the Annals of 
her convent. Then, too, on different occasions, she has assured 
us, both in speaking and by letters, in her own name as well as 
in that of her daughters, that after the works of St. Teresa and 
her Life by Ribera, the monument raised to the glory of Anne 



* We consider four works as the complement to our works on St, 
Teresa: Her Life, by Ribera; the Life of Father Balthasar Alvarez, her 
director; the Life of the Venerable Mother Anne of Jesus, her coadjutrix 
in the work of the foundations; and the Life of Venerable Mother Anne of 
St. Bartholomew. God grant us strength to publish the others. 



XXVI 



Preface 

of St. Bartholomew would be one of the greatest consolations to 
their souls in this life. 

It was in the same spirit and with the same nobility, we must 
in truth acknowledge, that the Reverend Mother Prioress of the 
Carmel of Tours constantly expressed herself regarding this 
family publication; and here she interpreted the well known senti- 
ments of the Carmel of France. Our work will present par- 
ticularly the narrative of the graces and mercies of our Lord to- 
wards the inseparable companion of St. Teresa. And this choice 
would seem, beyond all doubt, far preferable to details or ques- 
tions regarding Mother Anne's rule and government of mon- 
asteries. It will be seen that our constant object- has been to edify, 
console and encourage souls consecrated to the highest perfection, 
and particularly the daughters of St. Teresa. 

We will close this preface with a few words regarding the per- 
secution which assailed the Monastery of Antwerp towards the 
end of the last century, and the providential preservation of the 
remains of the Venerable Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew. 

Until the year 1782 the Carmel of Antwerp was prosperous, 
and the bones of its holy Foundress rested in peace. But in 1783 
this monastery was submitted to the most serious trials, and the 
virginal remains of Anne of St. Bartholomew, taken from the 
tomb, must journey into exile. The author of this persecution 
was the Emperor Joseph II. This prince, raised by a man, a slave 
to the heresy of Jansenism, had learned from his preceptor that 
the right and duty of a monarch was to govern the Church in his 
kingdom. Imbued with such perverse maxims, Joseph II posed 
as an autocrat, and as a despotic oppressor of the Church. He 
overwhelmed with sorrow the immortal Pontiff Pius VI, whose 
authority and paternal remonstrances he disdained ; he published 
a series of edicts tending to annihilate the rights of the Church 
and the Holy See. Alas ! he did not realize, in the delirium of his 
sacrilegious despotism, that by such acts he bequeathed to the 
inheritors of his scepter a joint responsibility that would draw 
down on them those terrible expiations written today in history 
as one of the greatest lessons God could give to sovereigns. 

Among other fundamental deviations from Christian principles, 
and among other abuses of royal power, Joseph II became the 
persecutor of religious Orders, particularly of contemplative Orders. 
Under the pretext that they were useless and hurtful to States 
he suppressed a great number of these monasteries in Hungary 
as well as in Austrian Flanders, and confiscated their belongings 
for the benefit of the crown. The monasteries of the Carmelites 
of Brussels and Antwerp endured this fate. The Infanta Clare- 
Isabel Eugenie, who governed the Netherlands, had founded with 
royal magnificence the Convent of Brussels, and showered her gifts 
on that of Antwerp ; she had shown by constant marks of her 
affection and respect that she fully understood how great and 
apostolic was the mission of the daughters of St. Teresa. Not the 
great memories connected with the origin of these two convents, 

xxvii 



Preface 

nor the authority of the name of the granddaughters of Charles ,V, 
nor the courageous protests of the Belgians, could protect them 
from the sentence of the philosophical and reforming monarch. 

During the persecution of Joseph II, who expelled from their 
retreats so many virgins consecrated to Jesus Christ, a descendant 
of St. Louis, Madame Louise of France, who then made Carmel 
famous by the sanctity of her life, conceived the idea of offering 
them all a refuge in her country. She asked this favor of Louis 
XVI, her nephew; the future martyr king entered with joy into 
the project of the pious princess. Immediately Madame Louise 
sent word to all the virgins banished from their holy retreats, 
offering them a home in the convents of France. She addressed 
herself particularly to the daughters of St. Teresa, who were her 
sisters; and as she followed with the greatest zeal the cause of 
the canonization of Anne of Jesus and Anne of St. Bartholomew, 
she obtained permission from Pope Pius VI that the Carmelites 
who would come to her Convent of St. Denis should bring her 
the bodies of these two illustrious daughters of St. Teresa. On 
the 14th of June, 1783, the community of Brussels arrived at St. 
Denis with this double treasure. 

The holy remains of the Foundresses of the Carmel of France 
were received with all transports of filial love and with all the 
respect inspired by faith. These two virgins came to crown their 
apostolate in the most Christian kingdom ; they came to uplift and 
ennoble the hearts of the Carmelites of France, on the eve of the 
storms which threatened them. 

Scarcely had four years passed when Madame Louise of France 
reached the end of her holy life. She had offered herself to God 
in Carmel, as a victim of expiation for her family and for France. 
Understanding all that was required of her by such a mission, she 
had walked with giant strides in the path of sanctity. In the ardor 
of the zeal which consumed her she had thousands of times given 
her life for God, for His Church, and for France. And though 
she had not shed her blood for Jesus Christ, the palm of martyr- 
dom had not been wanting to her. What she had experienced in 
seeing Louis XV, her father, imprinting by his private life so 
many deplorable stains on the throne of St. Louis; what she had 
felt from the age of twenty-four, in witnessing him signing, 
through weakness, the suppression of the Company of Jesus, this 
was for her the sword of martyrdom and of wounds which will 
be known only in heaven. Thus God, who sees all, wished to 
cover with glory the last hours of this august victim. It might 
be said that He sent Anne of Jesus and Anne of St. Bartholomew 
to hold this noble virgin in their arms, like another Teresa, at 
the moment when she would take her flight from the Convent 
of St. Denis to her celestial country. The first ray of the glory 
of the blessed already shone upon her head ; the heavens opened, 
Jesus Christ extended to her His arms. "Let us go;" she cried. 
"Let us rise up; let us hasten to enter Paradise." 

xxviii 



Preface 

The powerful intercession of Anne of Jesus and Anne of St. 
Bartholomew were to work other prodigies near their holy relics. 
A spiritual daughter of Madame Louise of France, a Carmelite 
of St. Denis, Madame de Chamboran, imbibed the fire of divine 
charity, and the strength of martyrdom. Led to the scaffold 
several years later, she made her confession: "I am a child of 
the Catholic Church." After these words, adorned with the blood 
of martyrdom, she went to join in heaven the daughter of St. 
Louis. 

Animated with the same heroism, the Carmelites of Compiegne 
went to the scaffold singing hymns, and radiant as angels they 
gathered the palm of martyrdom. Happy virgins! With their 
Sisters of St. Denis, they bequeathed to the Carmel of France an 
eternal title of glory: first among all the daughters of St. Teresa, 
they shed their blood for Jesus Christ. And if, during the tortures 
of the Revolution, all the daughters of St. Teresa in France proved 
themselves angels of virtue before the world, one need not be 
astonished. Anne of Jesus and Anne of St. Bartholomew were 
interceding with God for this Carmel, which they have so deeply 
imbued with the spirit of the holy Foundress. 

In 1790, the condition of Belgium permitting the daughters of 
St. Teresa to return to their convents, the Carmelites of Flanders 
who were in France started on their homeward journey, taking 
with them the holy bodies of Anne of Jesus and Anne of St. 
Bartholomew. 

On the 11th of October of the same year the Carmelites re- 
entered their convent with great solemnity. The cell which 
Venerable Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew had occupied was con- 
verted into an oratory and her remains placed there. But it was, 
alas! a rest of only a few years. In 1796 the French Revolution 
suppressed their convent once more. They found themselves ex- 
pelled during the month of July. Happily, in the month of May 
they had placed in safety the most precious of their treasures, 
the mortal remains of Anne of St. Bartholomew. One of the 
most honorable families of Antwerp had the immense honor of 
sheltering under its roof the shrine enclosing the body of the 
inseparable companion of St. Teresa. So great a privilege was 
the recompense of piety, long hereditary in this family. The holy 
shrine was guarded with all the devotion and respect that faith 
could inspire. As in olden times, during the persecution of em- 
perors, the Christians kept hidden the bodies of the martyrs and 
regarded them as a more precious treasure than all the riches of 
the world; so the family, to whom the virginal body of Blessed 
Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew was confided, secreted it, showed 
it every mark of respect, and esteemed it above all the diamonds 
of this earth. The holy shrine was the wonder-worker of this 
family. It brought down upon them a stream of blessings which 
never ceased to flow. Anne of St. Bartholomew was pleased even 
to show, by the eloquent proof of a miracle, how the Saints and 
favorites of God repay the kindness of hospitality received. But 
here we consider it our dut}^ to give place to the worthy son of 

xxix 



Preface 

the one whose days the servant of God miraculously prolonged, 
Count Gerard Le Grelle. Happy the Christian who can bequeath 
to his descendants so touching a page in the family souvenirs. 

"The remains of Anne of St. Bartholomew, enclosed in a leaden 
coffin, which covered a shrine of oak, was confided during the 
month of May of this year 1796 to the care of my parents, and 
the treasure was carefully hidden in a linen-closet, where it re- 
mained out of sight, under napkins and tablecloths, during the 
tempest of the Revolution. During this terrible time my parents' 
house was not molested, though unsworn priests were constantly 
sheltered, a chapel re-established there, daily Mass celebrated and 
Holy Communion given to quite a number of persons. It seemed 
as if Anne of St. Bartholomew, who was resting there, had taken 
it under her special protection. But the finger of God was shown 
in a still more striking way, when my father, taken with a very 
serious illness, was obliged to submit to a dangerous operation. 
On account of the late hour of the night it was postponed until 
the following day, and the last Sacraments had been ordered. My 
pious mother had recourse to the intercession of Venerable Mother 
Anne of St. Bartholomew, and passed part of the night in prayer 
before her relics. Suddenly, without any remedies, without the 
least effort, my father was completely cured. And when the physi- 
cians returned at break of day to the sick one they could not be- 
lieve the sudden change which had taken place. 'What has hap- 
pened here?' they cried out. 'This is astonishing ! It is a prodigy !' 
My family could reveal nothing of the supernatural cause to which 
they attributed the unexpected cure of my father, as they were 
obliged to observe the most profound secrecy regarding the pres- 
ence of the precious deposit, and my parents were forced to con- 
tent themselves with thanking, silently, God and their powerful 
protectress. 

"When, in 1801, the First Consul had restored to the Catholic 
religion part of its liberty, the Carmelites of Antwerp took advan- 
tage of it to return immediately to their former home, which a 
generous benefactor had purchased that it might be returned to 
them. Their first desire, on finding themselves in their monastery, 
was to have with them again the remains of their saintly Foundress. 
My parents therefore parted regretfully with the venerated treas- 
ure, which had brought them so many great favors, and preserved 
all their lives a particular devotion for Anne of St. Bartholomew." 

The precious shrine was returned for the second time to this 
convent which had been miraculously preserved, and was replaced 
in the cell where the Venerable Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew 
had breathed her last sigh. It is in this pious oratory her body 
still rests, and where we are allowed to venerate it. May she soon 
be raised to the altar! 

In conclusion, we declare that, in mind and heart, we submit 
to all the ordinances of the Holy Roman Church, whether as to 
the titles of Saint or Blessed, or to the narration of virtues and 
miraculous works which have not yet been sanctioned by the sov- 
ereign authority of the Vicar of Jesus Christ. 

XXX 



LIFE OF BLESSED MOTHER ANNE OF 
SAINT BARTHOLOMEW. WRITTEN 
BY HERSELF 



FIRST BOOK 

CHAPTER I 

BIRTHPLACE AND PARENTAGE 
Country and Parentage of the Blessed Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew. 

It was a modest village of old Castile, known by the name of 
Almendral, that had the glory of giving to the world and the 
Church that fortunate virgin for whom God reserved the most 
enviable title of Inseparable Companion of St. Teresa. She was 
born on the 1st of October in the year 1550, the feast day of 
St. Remy. Almendral, whose name her birth was to immortalize, 
was only a few leagues from Avila, where the seraphic Teresa of 
Jesus was, several years later, to bring back to Carmel its former 
splendor. God thus placed at a short distance from each other 
the cradles of the two virgins who were to be united by such 
intimate ties. 

Anne of St. Bartholomew's father was Ferdinand Garcia, and 
her mother, Maria Mancanas. Their praise is complete and their 
name handed down witji honor to future ages, when it is said they 
were worthy of her to whom they gave the light of day. The 
intensity of their faith would not permit them to delay the happi- 
ness of regeneration to the child whom God had just given them. 
The very day of her birth they carried her to the Church; she 
received holy baptism, and the name of Anne was given her. 

To cause God to reign was the motto of these Christian spouses. 
With a zeal full of faith they jealously sought His glory. Ferdi- 
nand caused all the feasts of our Lord to be celebrated with pomp ; 
his spouse with no less zeal had all the feasts of the Most Blessed 
Virgin celebrated — that of the Immaculate Conception in particu- 
lar. This was sufficient to delight the heart of God and draw down 
upon them and their family His continued blessings. Besides the 
graces with which God had inundated such faithful and fervent 
souls He was moreover pleased to bless their labors and make 
fertile their fields. Thus everything prospered in the home of 
Ferdinand Garcia and Maria Mancanas. No family in Almendral 
was held in such high esteem ; it held the first rank there. Their 
abode was that of charity itself; the poor found there the most 
kindly welcome. So great was the tender compassion of Maria 
Mancanas that she could not hear a child weeping on the street 
without immediately inquiring into its trouble ; and if it was an 
orphan she would adopt it and be to it as a mother. 

God gave this holy couple seven children — three sons and four 
daughters. She whose Life you are about to read was the last. 
Wishing to raise them all in the fear of the Lord, they received 
into their home a virtuous ecclesiastic, to aid them in their pious 
design. God was therefore to reign in this blessed family. Every 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

day, without exception, the father, mother and all the children 
assisted at Holy Mass ; every day prayers were said in common 
in the private oratory. There they recited the rosary of the Blessed 
Virgin. The priest, to whom Ferdinand Garcia had confided the 
care of his children, gave them every day a lesson in Christian 
doctrine ; he taught them to fear and love God. The daughters 
never left the house except to go to church or to work in the fields. 
Thus her paternal home was like a monastery to the young virgin 
whom God called to live in the Order founded by St. Teresa. The 
example of her father and mother, of her brothers and sisters, 
could not but excite her to serve God. To crown her happiness, 
her first cousin, Francesca Garcia, born the same day and baptized 
the same date, like herself a miracle of innocence, and transplanted 
with her to Carmel, was her inseparable companion and confiden- 
tial friend until the greatly desired moment when, bidding a 
final farewell to Almendral, they set out for Avila to be clothed 
there, in the monastery of St. Joseph, with the habit of Our Lady 
of Mount Carmel. 



CHAPTER II 



HORROR OF SIN 



Her First Vision at About the Age of Three Years — Horror of Sin — Her 
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, St. Joseph, the Saints and Angels. 

Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and our holy Mother, Teresa of Jesus, in whose 
names I undertake this work, commanded me by holy obedience. 

I was very small, not knowing yet how to speak, when one day 
they put me on my feet in a room where my sisters were working. 
My mother, passing by, said to them: ''Be very careful that the 
little one does not fall, as she might kill herself." One of my 
sisters then said : "God would do her a great favor, if she died, 
for now she would go to heaven." ''Do not say that," replied 
another of my sisters. "May she not die ; for, if she lives, she 
may become a saint." "That is doubtful," replied the first. "Now 
there is no danger for her; while children who have reached the 
age of seven years, may sin." I heard all this, and when my sister 
uttered the word "sin" I raised my eyes to heaven, without know- 
ing, as it seemed to me, what I was doing, and I thought that I saw 
the heavens open, and our Lord appeared to me in great majesty. 
As it was something new, I felt pierced to the heart with fear and 
reverence for Him who was present, for I recognized that it was 
God, and that it was He who would judge me. From this moment 
there was ever within me a great fear of sin, as my sisters called 
it, and of offending God. 

Having reached the age of seven years, the thought came to 
me one day that I might, perhaps, have the misfortune to sin, and 
I wept. One of my sisters asked me why I wept. I answered, 
"Because I fear to commit sin, and I would rather die." 

Because of this fear I began to have devotion towards several 
saints, but, before all, to the holy angels and to St. Joseph, whom, 
in my childlike simplicity, I took to be an angel. It was, however, 
the most holy Virgin who had my first homage. I had great con- 
fidence in her. I honored also the Eleven Thousand Virgins, 
St. John Baptist, and others among the blessed. Every day I 
begged them to keep me from sin, and I begged them particularly 
for the virtue of chastity. With such intercessors before God, I 
lived in great consolation and was very devoted to the good Jesus. 
I felt in my soul wonderful movements of His love, and in all that 
I did my only desire was that my Jesus should see me, that He 
should look at me and be contented with me. These were my 
habitual desires and thoughts when I was alone. I would look 
out of the windows into the fields to see if I could perceive Him, 
and this I did with great simplicity. 

At this tender age, when I was with other little girls, and they 
played, I wished to play with them also. One day, being in prayer 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

and greatly consoled (they were no doubt the consolations of little 
children), I said to our Lord: "My Lord, give me permission to 
go play with my companions, and I will return immediately after." 
And it seemed to me that our Lord granted it to me with pleasure. 

When I passed a day without addressing prayers to the Saints, 
to whom I had devotion, I was suddenly troubled with the fear of 
making them displeased with me ; I made great haste to ask their 
pardon, and promised to be faithful in honoring them. 

This is what passed in my soul until the tenth year of my life. 
At this age I lost my parents and their loss cast me into the deep- 
est affliction. 



CHAPTER III 



NEW FAVORS 



New Favors — Apparition of the Infant Jesus — Holy Friendship With Her 
Cousin — Their Attempt to Fly Into the Desert. 

I remained in the homestead with my brothers and sisters, 
who were to me father and mother; they were truly very good. 
As soon as I was old enough they sent me to guard the flocks in 
the fields; it was only a short distance from our home. At first 
I experienced great pain, but soon our Lord consoled me, and the 
fields became for me a source of delight. The birds by their songs 
led my soul into recollection. Therefore, as soon as they began 
to sing, I entered into a state of recollection which lasted entire 
hours. And very often when I was in this state the Infant Jesus 
came and placed Himself in my arms. I would find Him in this 
position when I would come to myself. What my soul experienced 
during this recollection I do not know how to express. I found 
myself in a glorious heaven, where I would have liked to live 
always. I desired never to see anyone again, and to go to a distant 
desert. Once I said to the Infant Jesus : "My Lord, since you are 
keeping me company, do not let us go any more where there are 
other persons, but let us go alone to some mountains, for with 
your company nothing will be wanting to me." But He smiled 
and, without speaking, made me understand that was not what 
He wanted of me. I already loved solitude so much because of 
this company that it was death to me to meet others. Sometimes 
night surprised me without my having perceived it, when half a 
league from the house. My brothers, frightened at this delay, 
would come to seek me, and would scold me. I was not at all 
astonished at their reproaches, as they did not know the company 
I enjoyed, and as I never spoke a word of it to them they might 
have thought something else. 

I lived in such high prayer without knowing what it was that 
ordinarily I was all inflamed with the love of Jesus. I commenced 
to think how I could manage to go to some place where no one 
would know I was a woman, and where I would be despised by 
everyone. For this end I thought of putting on man's clothes and 
flying. I saw that by doing this I would give cause for evil 
thoughts of me, but I feared nothing, and no obstacle presented 
itself to my mind that I was not ready to surmount. I did not 
consult with anyone about these things, except with a relative of 
my own age, who had received baptism at the same time with me. 
She was very good and had excellent aspirations. When we went 
to Mass, or could be together, our hearts, it seemed to me, were 
set on fire with the love of God. I said to her one day: "My sis- 
ter, why should not we two go to some desert, dressed as men, 
and spend our lives doing penance, like Magdalen?" She was 



Life o£ Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

more prudent than I, and replied : "My sister, it is no longer the 
time to do that; there are a thousand difficulties and a thousand 
dangers." Notwithstanding this reply, I did not fail to urge her 
often on this point, and ended by conquering her. I told her then 
that we would disguise ourselves as poor women slaves and 
strangers, and would go away in the night. Thus it was arranged ; 
it was decided that on a certain night, while all were sleeping, we 
would carry out our design. The moment having arrived, we 
thought to meet with no obstacle ; but our Lord did not will it. 
We both struggled all night, and it was impossible for us to go 
out ; though it would appear easy to open the doors, we could not, 
however, succeed in doing it. In the morning we found ourselves 
together at the church, and each one put to the other this ques- 
tion: "Well, why did you not leave?" We could not help laugh- 
ing on seeing how the Divine Master had spoiled our plan. I must 
add that we had agreed together to paint our faces, so as not to 
appear like women. We did this with so firm a determination, 
and such good will, that, had the Master been willing, nothing 
else, it seems to me, would have been wanting. The secret was 
kept perfectly by both of us. We were in some sort but one soul, 
only my companion was much better than I. 



CHAPTER IV 



TRIALS FROM HER FAMILY 



Her Brothers Think of Establishing Her in the World — Her Plea to the 
Blessed Virgin to Have No Other Spouse But Her Son — Her Morti- 
fications — Victory Won Over the Enemy of Our Salvation — Her 
Vocation to Carmel Revealed to Her by the Blessed Virgin. 

My brothers, seeing that I was of the proper age, thought of 
establishing me in the world; but I had no thoughts of this kind. 
I called the Blessed Virgin, whom I had taken as my mother, and 
all my well-beloved Saints, and I increased my devotions and 
penances. I went to the church, I hid myself in a chapel of the 
Conception of Our Lady, and there, with bare feet and knees on 
the ground, I supplicated this Divine Mother to come to my aid. 

At this time I found myself assailed by a thousand terrible 
temptations contrary to my will. It was for me a torment and 
an affliction. To this was joined the snares of the devil ; but I 
took the discipline ; I went down into a damp cave, and, prostrate 
on the earth, remained in prayer until the fury of the temptation 
had ceased. I slept on broken crockery, I clothed my body in 
some coarse linen in place of my tunic, which I gave to the poor, 
in order that it would not be noticed in the house that I did not 
wear it; and at other times I put on haircloth. 

Once they ordered me to lie down with one of my sisters who 
was frightened. I had not yet recited my rosary, and, in order not 
to fall asleep, I took with me a large stone, which was very sharp, 
and after having put out the light I went to bed, slipping this 
stone in also ; it was the pillow I made use of very frequently. 
This time I put it directly under my body, in order not to go to 
sleep. But it was not sufficient, for before finishing my rosary 
I slept. During my sleep I saw the Mother of God, surrounded 
with great splendor, carrying the Infant Jesus in her arms, enter 
the room. Seated with Him on a brilliant throne, she regarded 
me with kindness. The Divine Child commenced to pull me with 
the rosary, as if He wished to play, and drew me so forcibly that 
He awakened me. The Mother of God then said to me : "Have 
no anxiety and fear nothing; I will lead you, myself, to the place 
where you will be a religious, and where you will wear my habit." 
Having said these words, she disappeared. I remained supremely 
consoled, and with the most ardent desire to serve my God. 

Another day, when my relatives were persecuting me, to force 
me to yield to their desires that I should be married, this thought 
came to my mind: If there was to be found a just man who was 
very prudent and very handsome — for it seemed to me I had never 
seen such a one as I imagined ; on the contrary, they were all ugly, 
in my opinion — if, as I said, I should meet such an upright one, 
I would say to myself that I would not sin by accepting him as 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

a spouse, for I would have in him a support, and he would be the 
guardian of my virginity; but if he were not such, I would not 
have him for the whole world. 

One day Jesus appeared to me, partly grown up, a little less 
in height than a young man. He was wonderfully beautiful, and 
this ennobling beauty shone forth from His whole Divine Person. 
From my most tender childhood, when He appeared to me in the 
fields, or elsewhere. He was always my height, so that it seemed 
as if He grew with me. In this last apparition He was as I have 
just described. He spoke these words to me: "I am He whom 
thou lovest and with whom thou must contract the union of 
espousals." He disappeared immediately, but my soul remained 
ravished and inflamed with love of Him. And from that time 
the outbursts of love that I experienced usually were so impetuous 
they deprived me of my natural strength. Day and night I had 
no other thought but of what I could do for the Well-Beloved. 
I wished to endure for Him labors, affronts, and to be considered 
as a fool. 

Once one of my married sisters sent me a message to go to 
her house. "Is there anyone with her?" I asked the servant. 
"Yes," she replied ; "a young man, her husband's brother." Now 
I knew my brother-in-law and sister wished to marry me to this 
young man and they made efforts to bring it about. I made a 
toilet according to my own fashion. I took some coarse clothes 
from the kitchen, put them on as carelessly as possible, and in this 
costume started for my sister's house. Scarcely had she seen me, 
as I crossed the threshold of the door, than she became unusually 
annoyed, and said to me: "Where are you going? Are you a 
fool? Go away from here." And I returned home full of joy. 



10 



CHAPTER V 

CONSTANCY AND RECOLLECTION 

Her Constancy and Her Recollection — Words That She Addressed to Our 
Lord — The Divine Master Shows Her, in a Vision, the Monastery of 
the Religious of St. Joseph at Avila. 

I avoided speaking with men and of giving them occasion to 
speak to me. If my brothers' friends entered the house I went 
out, or I showed them a face which would impress them as if they 
had had a frightful apparition. I used this prudent reserve be- 
cause, as I have said, I often felt within myself a strong deter- 
mination to serve our Lord, and I realized besides the obligations 
I had towards my God : they were great and required of me great 
purity and fidelity. These were the two considerations that ani- 
mated me to combat manfully against the world. 

I was sometimes sent, together with my sisters and the serv- 
ants of the house, a quarter of a league from the village to a place 
where we had wheat fields and flocks. All the way there I kept 
silence, and, as soon as we arrived, would seek a secluded spot 
under the trees, tell them not to disturb me, and then enter into 
prayer. The good Jesus would come near me and sit down, as I 
have already mentioned. I would say to Him: ''Let us go away, 
my Lord, to some solitary place." In very truth He showed that 
He would do this with pleasure, but that it was not suitable ; He 
made me understand this without speaking, but only by looking 
at me with a divine smile. For my part, I desired to go to the 
high mountains which were not far distant; and, this time. He 
made me understand it could not be. I, however, asked Him again 
to lead me to some solitary mountain, and after that request I 
slept for awhile. He showed me, then, the Monastery of Avila, 
which was the first our holy Mother had succeeded in founding; 
also the religious of this monastery wearing the habit. I asked 
them for something to drink, as I was thirsty. All this passed in 
my sleep. They gave me a drink, and I recognized afterwards, 
when I was in the monastery, the glass they had offered me with 
the water. This vision took away my desire to go to the desert, 
and I had no longer any other desire than to be a religious. 



11 



CHAPTER VI 

JOURNEY TO AVILA 

She Makes Known to Her Spiritual Guide Her Desire to Be a Carmelite 
at Avila — She Sees the Heavens Opened — Her Journey to Avila — The 
Religious Accept Her, But Delay Her Entrance — Return to Almen- 
dral — A Host of Demons Appear to Her on the Way. 

At this time it pleased God to send as pastor of the church of 
this town a priest who was a Doctor of Divinity and a great serv- 
ant of God. My companion and I made our confessions to him. 
When I made known to him that I wished to be a religious at 
Avila, he said to me: "They have just founded a new monastery; 
if you wish me to speak with the religious and ask a place for you, 
I will do so." It seemed as if heaven had opened to me, and I 
replied yes, that it would console me very much. He did so with 
paternal solicitude, though I had been confessing to him for so 
short a time. He made known my desires, and they replied to 
him in the monastery to send me to Avila, as they wished to see 
me before coming to any decision. After this reply, I made known 
to my brothers the desire I had to be a religious ; I told them I had 
already communicated with the monastery, and the religious 
wished to see me. My brothers were much distressed; but, as 
they had a holy fear of God, they did not refuse me, and accom- 
panied me to Avila. By a particular dispensation of God, the 
religious accepted me immediately, with pleasure. For my part, 
I experienced great content to find myself with them, and I recog- 
nized those I had seen in my dream. But this was only a simple 
interview, and it was arranged between us that they would let me, 
as well as my relatives, know when I should return. My brothers 
said to me: "Why do you wish to join these religious? They 
seem to us very austere." I answered them : "They seem to me 
like saints." And it was as if I had been with them all my life. 

When we were returning my relatives seated themselves near 
a spring to rest; I went aside and, when alone, raised my eyes to 
God to thank Him for the favor He had granted me. But when 
the evil spirit saw me returning to the world, and as the secrets 
of God are unknown to these spirits of darkness, I saw a great 
troop of demons suddenly assemble before me and in the air; they 
danced with great demonstrations of joy, as if they already had 
me in their power; they looked like men very diminutive in form, 
having, as it were, only claws and heads, horrible to look upon, 
and so numerous that they cast a shadow like a flock of birds. 
If God did not permit them to succeed in what they thought of 
doing. He at least allowed them to make war on me, either through 
relatives and friends, or by interior and exterior diabolical tempta- 
tions. If they had molested me before, they did so now with much 
greater fury. But God did not allow them to act according to 
their will, and if He doubled the temptations He doubled my 
spirit of recollection and my strength to resist them. 

12 



CHAPTER VII 



PROTECTION OF GOD 



Trials to Which She is Subjected by Her Brothers — Miraculous Strength 
Given Her by God — How Wild Bullocks Become Like Lambs at the 
Sound of Her Voice, and How They Defend Her — Her Cousin and 
Herself Find Themselves Exposed to a Great Danger — The Divine 
Master Protects and Delivers Them. 

My brothers threatened me in order to try me. From threats 
they soon passed on to deeds. They made me share the tasks of 
the day laborers who worked in the fields. They gave me, besides, 
other duties which required the strength of a man. The servants 
of the house said that two of them together could not do what I 
did alone. I laughed at their talk, as the burden I was ordered to 
carry seemed to me only a straw. I was interiorly so intoxicated 
with divine love, and my mind was so actively employed, that I 
could not have borne it if the painful labors imposed upon me had 
not come to distract me. My brothers did not spare me; they 
gave me two carts to draw alone ; they were not smaller than 
wagons; they were used to carry the sheaves of wheat from the 
field to the barn, where they were to be threshed. The harvesters 
made sheaves for me twice as large as those for the men, thinking 
that I could not lift them. I took them up, however, with great 
ease, and threw them without any effort into the carts. Seeing 
this, the men who were reaping stopped to gaze at me; they 
seemed seized with fear, and asked one another if this strength 
came from God or from the evil spirit. 

The sheaves of wheat having been carried to the threshing- 
floor, I was told to thresh them. In order to do this I was obliged 
to harness two or three pairs of oxen; they were unruly and dif- 
ficult to manage; but God gave me so much strength that when 
I called them they immediately bowed their heads and came of 
their own accord to receive the yoke, as if they had been lambs. 

One day they sent me to find these oxen when they were in 
pasture. One was missing; he had remained among the briars 
between the rocks. While I was seeking him I saw a mad dog 
coming ; I did not know it was mad ; but soon it sprang at me and 
tried to bite me. I threw myself face downward on the ground, 
that I. might not feel its breath; it jumped on me and tore my 
clothes, which were new and which I wore that day for the first 
time. The ox I could not find was hidden quite near. As soon 
as he saw I was thus badly treated by the dog, he came out of the 
brushwood, darted forward to my aid, and attacked the dog, which 
soon left me. The animal then approached me, as if he had been 
endowed with reason ; he licked and caressed me with his mouth. 
He then started forward and made me a sign to lean on him. I did 

13 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

so, and he conducted me in this way to the house, to the great 
astonishment of all who witnessed it. 

Another time I went with my cousin to guard the flocks at the 
foot of the mountain. We were seated on a rock when we saw 
afar off a shepherd coming towards us. We were afraid and hid 
ourselves in a cave which was under this rock; as the grass was 
high there, we laid down in it. We were alone and defenseless; 
but God wished to protect us. The man came, he even stepped 
upon the rock where he had seen us, and, not being able to find 
us, he cried out: "Where can they have gone? May the devil 
take them !" We remained hidden until evening, and did not 
leave our hiding place until we thought he had gone. But, owing 
to fright, we were so bathed in perspiration, one would have 
thought we had come out of the river. 

On my return to the house they reproached me most severely; 
they told me I was foolish, that I must renounce prayer and the 
idea of becoming a religious ; that if I went to the convent at Avila 
I could not endure the austerity ; that I would be obliged to re- 
turn, and that I would dishonor the family ; that it would be better 
to stop short and prevent this misfortune by no longer thinking 
of entering the monastery. To accomplish this design, sometimes 
my relatives treated me with severity and again with much affec- 
tion. According to them, they acted in this way only for my 
good; if they opposed my wishes, it was only because I had not 
the strength to bear the kind of life I wished to embrace. They 
made use of their friends to turn me from my resolution, to coun- 
sel me as my relatives counseled me — in a word, to tell me that I 
was not in a good way and must take another. 



14 



CHAPTER VIII 



APPARITIONS 



Apparition of the Demon Under the Form of a Giant — Terror Caused by 
This Vision — She Suddenly Invokes the Most Holy Trinity — Apparition 
of the Three Divine Persons — Trial of Sickness — Pilgrimage to a Sanc- 
tuary of the Apostle St. Bartholomew — Sudden Cure — Supernatural 
Light Regarding the Accomplishment of Her Desires. 

On a beautiful moonlight evening one of my relatives asked 
my brother's permission to take me with her to see her linen, 
which was in a house not far from the hamlet. Scarcely had we 
arrived when we heard a great noise that frightened me exceed- 
ingly ; there was dragging of chains and loud groans. My relative, 
seeing that I was disturbed, said to me : *Tt is nothing ; it is only 
some animal passing on the road." But soon there appeared to us 
at a short distance a frightful apparition. It was someone twice 
the height of a man ; notwithstanding his great size, he was very 
agile, and he advanced towards us. Seeing this, I fanted and fell 
to the ground, saying : "May the Most Holy Trinity assist me !" 
My companion quickly raised me up and endeavored to calm my 
fear. Seeing that I was somewhat restored, though very weak, 
she supported me with her arm, and took me back to the house. 
Now, during all the time of our walk, from the linen-house to my 
home, I saw at a little distance three persons clothed in white, 
constantly walking before us. I said to my relative, "Who are 
those persons?" "They must be," she said, "shepherds returning 
from guarding their flocks." But on reaching the house I recog- 
nized by a supernatural light that it was the Most Holy Trinity 
whom I had called to my aid. I still suffered from the fear and 
weakness of heart caused by the frightful vision of which I have 
just spoken. That night I could not remain alone in a room with- 
out being seized with fright. It was as if a wicked shadow pur- 
sued me. I spoke of it to my brothers ; they had Masses offered 
for my relief, but the trial did not cease. It was then near the 
Feast of St. Bartholomew, and there was, five leagues distant from 
Almendral, a hermitage of that holy Apostle, for which they had 
great devotion in these parts. My relatives took me there to make 
a novena. When three leagues from our destination I asked per- 
mission to go on foot, in order that God might grant the favor of 
my cure. They consented. I then walked the three leagues. But 
on arriving at the hermitage, feeling extremely fatigued, I wished, 
before entering, to rest for a few minutes, when suddenly I was 
struck with paralysis. It was necessary to carry me into the sanc- 
tuary consecrated to the Apostle. Scarcely had I crossed the 
threshold than I felt delivered from my illness and completely 
cured. To crown my happiness I received the assurance that I 
would see the accomplishment of my desires. 

15 



CHAPTER IX 

HER ENTRANCE INTO RELIGION 

Her Entrance Into Religion Retarded by Her Relatives — Recourse to the 
Souls in Purgatory, and to the Blessed Virgin — Constancy in Her 
Vocation — Entrance Into the Monastery of St. Joseph at Avila on 
All Souls' Day. 

On our return from the pilgrimage to St. Bartholomew we 
received letters from the Monastery of St. Joseph, whither they 
bade me come. But there was no sign that my relatives were 
willing to give their consent. I had a Mass said every day for a 
year for the souls in purgatory, that these souls by their influence, 
and the Blessed Virgin by her power, would change my relatives. 
They put off their consent from day to day, thinking that these 
delays would end by making me give up my intention. 

During this interval, several religious, who were going to make 
a foundation in Talavera, passed through Almendral. My rela- 
tives begged them to accept hospitality with us. Seizing so good 
an occasion, they entreated the religious in the name of God to 
persuade me to go with them, saying that the monastery they 
were about to found was very near, and that they would be much 
better contented to have me with them. The religious did not 
fail to advise according to the wishes of my relatives. They shut 
themselves up all evening with me, pressing me with the greatest 
earnestness; they made me the most advantageous offers, and 
promised me all the favors imaginable. But the greater the efforts 
they made to persuade me the stronger and more determined I 
felt not to depart from what our Lord had shown me. It was 
undoubtedly that Divine Master who gave me the strength, for 
naturally I should certainly have desired the honors these servants 
of God promised me, and the advantage of being near my rela- 
tives. But that which might have been agreeable to others I held 
in horror. Finally God came to my help, and the thought of 
changing my resolution never entered my mind. 

For their part, the religious of St. Joseph at Avila wrote press- 
ing letters for me to come ; my brothers replied that they would 
take me on the Feast of All Saints. 

The eve of this feast my brothers were discontented, and said 
nothing to me. The hour for supper having come, and being at 
table with my three sisters and two of my brothers, I asked them 
if we were not going on our journey. At these words my oldest 
brother was seized with such a fit of anger that he rose from the 
table and drew his sword to kill me. One of my sisters rose and 
caught his hand, or, rather, I believe it was one of God's angels, 
for I saw the sword giving me the blow on the head. And God 
gave me, in so short a space of time, such perfect resignation to 
die for love of Him, that I hope to have as great at the hour of 

16 



Her Entrance Into Religion 

death. I said in my heart to the Divine Master: *'My Lord, I die 
very contentedly, for the sake of justice." The sister who held 
my brother's hand said to me: "Go away from here; leave our 
presence and cease troubling the house." I went to hide myself 
in a secret place, and left them greatly troubled ; they were in 
such a state that all night they had no thought of looking for me. 
It seemed as if a multitude of evil spirits were going through 
the whole house. In the morning I slipped out without any one 
seeing me and went to Church. My confessor on seeing me said : 
"How is this that you have not started yet for the convent?" I 
told him what had happened, and that I only came to go to con- 
fession. For my part I was not at all angry with them. I saw 
plainly they were not to blame ; it was the devil who was doing 
it all. My confessor ordered me to communicate. I told him 
that I scrupled to receive Holy Communion without having 
begged their pardon. He replied that there was no cause for it, 
but finally let me go. I went on my knees and asked their pardon. 
They replied in a rough tone : "Go out of here ; how can you 
come again after all the pain you have caused us?" I went out 
without any reply and communicated. After Communion I be- 
came somewhat recollected, and divided between pain and con- 
tent I gave thanks to God for all. While I was thus recollected, 
thanking my God for all the favors He had showered on me, my 
brother entered the church, the very one who had wished to kill 
me. In the excess of the grief my departure caused him, his face 
was as that of one dead. He told me that everything was ready, 
and that I could return to the house. I was distressed to see my 
brother so disturbed, for he had an angelic character, and was, 
of all my brothers, the one I loved the most. He wished to 
accompany me, as well as that one of my sisters who had averted 
the blow; several other persons also joined us. During all the 
way they did nothing but weep, and could scarcely address a 
word to me. As for me, I trembled interiorly with joy; on the 
other hand, however, I was so tormented with wicked tempta- 
tions it seemed as if all hell was leagued to war against me. I 
took care not to say the least word about this to those who 
accompanied me ; for if I had been ever so little communicative, 
they would have had just cause to tell me that I was a fool to 
enter the monastery in such a condition. 

The Holy Souls in Purgatory aided me to arrive at St. 
Joseph of Avila on their feast day, and the morning of this same 
day I saw the doors of the monastery opened to me. I had scarcely 
crossed the threshold than all this interior tempest was in a 
moment calmed ; it was as if a veil had been lifted from above 
my head. I felt as if in heaven, so happy was I ; it seemed to me 
that from my earliest childhood until this, I had lived this kind 
of a life and had dwelt among these saints. 



17 



SECOND BOOK 

CHAPTER I 

OBJECT OF VOCATION TO CARMEL 

Of the End Mother Teresa of Jesus Proposed to Herself in Founding Her 
Monasteries, How High and Perfect this Object Was, and What New 
Value It Gave to the Order of Mount Carmel. 

COMMENTARY 

Before considering Anne of St. Bartholomew during the ex- 
ercises of the novitiate, it is necessary to have a correct idea of 
the Order to which God had called her. For this purpose we will 
place before the eyes of our readers the end Saint Teresa proposed 
to herself in founding her Order and the kind of rule observed 
in it. It is the Saint herself, and Ribera, the most reliable of 
her historians, to whom we shall listen. Their enlightened words 
reveal to every reader the grandeur of Saint Teresa's mission 
in the Church of God, and they give full knowledge of the Order 
of Carmel. 

We quote from Ribera : "Before going further with this narra- 
tive, it would be well, it seems to me, to satisfy the desire of 
those who wish to know the end proposed by Mother Teresa of 
Jesus in founding this monastery, and the rule, habit and manner 
of life she established. That which we are about to say of the 
House of St. Joseph at Avila applies equally to all the mon- 
asteries of which we shall speak later on. 

''The intention of the Saint was only, in the beginning, to 
found a monastery where she and those who wished to follow 
her, could, by means of a stricter enclosure and a more austere 
life, keep what they promised our Lord, conformably to the voca- 
tion of their Order ; as for founding a new Order, the Holy Mother 
never thought of that; she only hoped to restore in its primitive 
perfection the ancient Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, in 
which she had made her profession. 

"Later, considering the great needs of the Church, and, in 
her great charity, wishing, as far as lay in her power, to come to 
the aid of those who were fighting for her, she went farther in 
her design — she added to the penance and poverty she had at 
first wished to introduce, and she made her foundation after an- 
other manner. But, as I desire that all this should be known from 
her own words rather than from mine, I will relate here what she 
herself says in the first chapter of her 'Way of Perfection.' I will 
not cite from the edition of Evora or of Salamanca, but from the 
very autograph of the Saint, which I have in my hands ; it will 
be the same with all the other quotations I will make in this work. 
The Saint expresses herself thus : Tn the beginning, when mak- 
ing the foundation of this rnonastery of St. Joseph at Avila, it 
was not my intention that they should lead so austere a life there, 

18 



Object of Vocation to Carmel 

nor that it should be without a revenue. On the contrary I would 
have liked to have sufficient resources so that nothing should be 
wanting. Such a desire makes known my weakness and my want 
of virtue ; however, in inclining towards this view I had upright 
intentions, and sought to follow them rather than to flatter my 
nature. But having learned at this time of the blows dealt the 
Catholic faith in France, the ravages the unfortunate Lutherans 
had made there and the rapid inroads this disastrous sect was 
daily making, my soul was consumed with grief. From this time, 
as if I could do or was anything, I wept at our Lord's feet and 
begged Him to provide a remedy for so great an evil. I would 
willingly have given a thousand lives to save one of these souls 
whom I beheld perishing in such great numbers in that kingdom. 
But, alas ! being a woman and still very weak in virtue, I saw 
the impossibility of serving in any way the cause of my Divine 
Master. However, I was continually pursued by a desire which 
still consumes me : seeing that my Divine Master had so many 
enemies and so few friends, I wished at least that these last should 
be invulnerable. Therefore, I resolved to do the little that de- 
pended on me, that is to say, to follow the evangelical counsels 
with all the perfection of which I was capable, and to lead the 
religious gathered at St. Joseph to embrace the same manner of 
life. I placed my confidence in the goodness of God, which never 
fails to assist those who generously renounce all for love of Him. 
My companions being such as I wished them to be, I hoped that 
my faults would be concealed by their virtues, and that thus I 
could, in some way, give pleasure to God. Finally, it seemed to 
me, by being entirely occupied in prayer for the defenders of the 
Church, for the preachers and wise men who fought for her, we 
would, as far as in our power, come to the aid of this Adorable 
Master so maliciously persecuted. Seeing the zeal with which 
these traitors, who had been loaded by Him with favors, made war 
against Him, one would think they wished to crucify Him anew 
and leave Him no place on earth where He might lay His head.' 
The Saint then adds : 'O my Sisters in Jesus Christ, unite with 
me in begging with most ardent supplications this favor of the 
Divine Master : this is your vocation ; this is your business ; to- 
wards this should all your aspirations tend ; it is for this object 
your tears should flow ; indeed, it is this you should never cease 
asking of God.' " 

''These words of the Saint show clearly the end she proposed 
in the reform of her Order and in the foundation of her monas- 
teries, also the vocation of the religious who dwell in them. Thus, 
although her first design was of great perfection, she nevertheless 
transformed it in such a way, she raised it so high by this new 
idea and end she gave it, that one can scarcely find in any Order 
of women perfection so great, nor a more exalted vocation. For, 
according to the teaching of St. Thomas and of truth, the supe- 
riority of one religious Order over another, as regards perfection, 
does not consist in the penances practised there, but in the privi- 

19 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

lege of having a higher end, with means proportioned to the 
attainment of this end. Therefore, he concludes, the religious 
Orders highest in perfection are those which have for their end 
teaching and preaching, and that after them follow immediately 
the contemplative Orders; for, as it is better to enlighten others 
than only to shine oneself, so it is better to communicate to others 
what one has learned in contemplation than merely to contem- 
plate. Now, as religious Orders of women are not established to 
preach, the highest Order among them would be the one which 
would have for end to aid by its prayers and penances those 
w ho fulfill this ministry ; that is to say, those who defend the 
Church ; for that mode of life is more perfect which approaches 
nearest to that which possesses the height of perfection; and no 
religious Order of women can have a higher end than that of 
unceasingly praying, fasting, leading a life of austerity, for the 
preservation and defense of the Catholic Church, and the salva- 
tion of souls, doing all in their power that the faithful may live 
according to their state, and that infidels may obtain knowledge 
of their Creator. To the truth of this, St. Gregory testifies in his 
12th Homily on Ezechiel, where he says, 'that there is no sacri- 
fice more agreeable to God than zeal for souls.' Another truth 
which proceeds from the words of the Saint, and which her reli- 
gious should always have present to the mind and graven in their 
souls, is this: that, no matter what penances and what prayers 
they offer; how great their zeal in the choir and their fidelity to 
perform all that good and perfect religious should do, they do not 
fulfill the end of their vocation, nor what God demands of them, 
if they are not exceedingly careful to offer the prayers, fasts and 
penances of which we have spoken, for this exalted end, namely, 
of coming to the aid of those who are on the battlefield, struggling, 
combating for the glory of our Lord God ; and finally for all those 
who in different parts of the world labor in an especial manner 
for the salvation of souls. From this it follows that what would 
suffice for other religious would not be sufficient for them ; that 
what would be perfection for others would not be perfection for 
them ; as they would be wanting in the principal thing in their 
vocation and their Order. As for me, I rejoice that this is written 
here, because every time it is read I will be proclaiming aloud, 
after my death, what I proclaim now during my life. And let the 
religious of this Order who will read this believe that the most 
holy Virgin Mary, who is the Mother of these monasteries ; the 
blessed St. Joseph, who is their Father, and the holy Mother 
Teresa of Jesus, who is their Foundress, wish and desire that this 
doctrine should be preached in these monasteries. If one reads 
the works of the Saint attentively, they will see that what I have 
said, and will say again, to her religious, is what she, herself, has 
most expressly recommended in her writings. Thus, regarding 
the subject of which we are now treating, the holy Mother, after 
having said in the 13th chapter of the 'Way of Perfection' many 
excellent things, concludes with these words: 

20 



Object of Vocation to Carmel 

" 'And when you do not refer your prayers, your desires, your 
disciplines, your fasts, to the end which I have pointed out to you, 
think and believe that you are not doing what God requires of 
you, and that you do not fufill the end for which He has assem- 
bled you here. May this Adorable Master, I beg of Him in the 
name of all that He is, never permit this to be effaced from your 
memory.' " 

(Ribera, Life of St. Teresa, Book H, Chapter I.) 



21 



CHAPTER II 

NOVITIATE OF BLESSED MOTHER 

Anne of St. Bartholomew in the Novitiate — Trials — How Our Lord En- 
graved in Her Soul the Distinctive Characteristic of a Carmelite — 
Zeal for the Salvation of Souls — He Shows Her France; and the Sight 
of the Souls Going to Perdition in That Kingdom Redoubles the Ardor 
of Her Zeal — State of Her Soul During the First Fifteen Years of 
Her Religious Life. 

Scarcely had I passed a few days in the Monastery of St. Joseph 
than it pleased our Lord to hide Himself from me and leave me 
in darkness. My desolation was great. I said to this Adorable 
Master: ''How is this? Why have you abandoned me? If I did 
not know you, I would think you had deceived me, and if I had 
known you would go away I would not have come to the monas- 
tery." 

This abandonment lasted during the entire year of novitiate. 
At the end of the year I entered one day the hermitage of Christ 
at the Pillar to pray. Scarcely had I knelt down than I became 
supernaturally recollected, and our Lord appeared to me fastened 
to the cross. The first words He addressed to me were in reply 
to a desire I had to know whether the thirst He experienced on 
the cross was a natural thirst. He said to me : "My thirst was 
only a thirst for souls. From henceforth you must apply yourself 
to the consideration of this truth, and you must walk in a different 
path from that you have followed until now." As if He had said 
to me, "Child, no longer seek Me." He then caused me to see all 
virtues in their perfection ; they were exquisitely beautiful. I was 
the more impressed when I realized how far I was from their 
beauty and perfection. After having favored me with this light, 
the Divine Master disappeared, leaving my heart deeply wounded 
with His love, as well as by seeing Him on the cross so deeply 
wounded with the love of souls. This grace remained so indelibly 
impressed in my soul that it was with me day and night ; my heart 
was with my Adorable Master, and my Adorable Master was in 
my heart ; this was my usual state. Wherever I might be I expe- 
rienced a zeal beyond expression for the salvation of souls and for 
the acquisition of those virtues that the Divine Master had shown 
me in the vision I have just related. He told me that it was by 
the way of the cross I would acquire them. 

Another day I went to pray in the hermitage of St. Francis. 
Before entering I noticed a delightful perfume of flowers, which 
led me into profound recollection. I then beheld the Divine Master 
enter. His exterior was the same as when He was in this world. 
He was ravishingly beautiful, but He seemed exceedingly grieved. 
He approached me and put His right hand on my left shoulder. 
I felt a weight that I am unable to describe. This Adorable Master 

22 



Novitiate of Blessed Mother 

communicated to my heart the pain that overwhelmed Him, and 
He said to me: "Behold the souls who are being lost in spite of 
My love. Aid Me to save them." And at the same time He showed 
me France, as if I were there, and the thousands of souls who are 
being lost because of heresies. This vision lasted scarcely a mo- 
ment; if it had lasted longer I feel that I should have fallen. To 
tell the nature of the pain I experienced is something beyond my 
power. This vision and favor filled me with so great love for God 
and for souls I could scarcely live, so great was my thirst for their 
salvation. I had no desire to eat or sleep ; thirst for the salvation 
of souls pursued me everywhere. There is no kind of penance 
I would not have wished to perform during these impetuous out- 
bursts and states of fervor, and they lasted at least fifteen years ; 
they had even commenced while I was still living with my family. 
If, during all this time, they had given me permission, I would 
have been foolish in performing penances, so insatiable was I for 
them. I did, however, all that depended on me to obtain permis- 
sion, and when refused leave to use the discipline I asked that of 
pinching my arms. I did it so fiercely that they were all black 
from the wounds. I carried absinthe to the refectory, finely pow- 
dered, so that it would not be noticed, and I mixed it with my 
food. 

My confessor, who knew the state of my soul, tried me in a 
thousand ways, in order to see if the Spirit of God was working 
in me. 

One day I was greatly grieved concerning the state of several 
men who were being led to the gallows and who passed in front 
of our monastery. I could not keep back these words : "If I 
thought one of these men was not prepared to die, I would wish 
to be put in his place." The confessor said : "Your charity is not 
capable of that." I replied that it was, and that he should try me. 
My confessor then said : "Go to the fire and hold your finger in 
the flame for the space of a Credo; then come and tell me how you 
felt." Obedience made me brave ; I did what the confessor com- 
manded me and returned to give him an account. I do not know 
how it happened, but while I recited a Credo I held my finger in 
the fire, and I felt nothing — it caused me no pain. If I had done it 
of my own accord, I would have been frightened and thought the 
devil had purposed to deceive me ; but as I did it through obedi- 
ence I had no other thought than that God had commanded it. 
I returned, as I have said, to give an account to my confessor, and 
he said to me : "Go away from here. You are only a little fool. 
There is no common sense in all that." 

After the fifteen years of which I have spoken, though my 
prayer was not always the same, and my soul was occupied some- 
times with one object and sometimes with another, I was always 
aided by God to perform all the mortifications permitted me in 
the refectory and elsewhere. Often I rolled my naked body on 
thorns and nettles ; but this must not be considered anything 
extraordinary, when the spirit is master of the flesh. I did many 

23 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

things in order to pass for one who had lost her senses, as if I 
was very prudent! — certainly I had no need of artifices to appear 
devoid of sense — I was only too much so.* 

FORMULA OF THE PROFESSION OF ANNE 
OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW 

Literal extract from the Profession Book of the Convent of 
St. Joseph of Avila: 

"On the 15th of August in the year 1572, his illustrious Lord- 
ship, Don Alavara de Mendoza, being Bishop of Avila, Sister Anne 
of Saint Bartholomew, known in the world as Anne Garcia Man- 
canas, made her profession in this house of Saint Joseph at Avila. 
She was a daughter of Ferdinand Garcia and Maria Mancanas, 
who lived in the village of Almendral. She gave as dowry 20,000 
Tnaravedis; she was twenty-one years of age when professed. Her 
profession was made in the following terms : 

"I, Anne of St. Bartholomew, daughter of Ferdinand Garcia 
and Marie Mancanas, inhabitants of Almendral, make my profes- 
sion, and promise obedience to Almighty God, the Virgin Mary, 
His glorious Mother, in whose name was founded the Order of 
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, and to you. Most Reverend Sir, Ferdi- 
nand de Tricuela, Archdeacon of Arcoalo, Vicar General of the 
diocese of Avila, in the place of his Most Illustrious and Most 
Reverend Lordship, Don Alvaro de Mendoza, Bishop of Avila, 
and to the Bishops who will succeed him, and to you, Mother Mary 
of St. Jerome, Prioress of St. Joseph, and to the Prioresses who 
will succeed you in the said monastery, to live in poverty and 
chastity until death, according to the rule of Our Lady of Mount 
Carmel. 

"Made this 15th day of August, 1572, and because it is the 
truth I sign it with my name or a cross." 

(Then follows the signatures of the Prioress and two other 
religious. Anne of St. Bartholomew was professed as a lay- 
Sister.) 



* We insert here something referring to this First Chapter. It is the 
formula of the profession of Anne of St. Bartholomew, as the Carmelites 
of St. Joseph of Avila wrote it in their Profession Book. 

24 



CHAPTER III 



DEVOTION TO THE PASSION 



Her Devotion to the Passion of Our Lord — Her Zeal in Imitating the 
Divine Master in His Sufferings — Her Tender Charity Towards the 
Poor — Vision of Purgatory — Prophetic Words of St. Teresa. 

My soul was inflamed with love whenever I thought of the 
Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ; from my most tender years 
I had this devotion. Whilst still very small, when I entered the 
church and saw represented there the Passion of the Divine Savior, 
I would weep. I would have liked to be ill-used for love of Him. 
On leaving my home I would uncover my feet and walk on the 
stones and rough parts of the road, in order to be cut. What I 
could give away of my clothing, unnoticed, I would give, keeping 
the outer garments that could be seen, and giving the others to 
the poor. I put aside for them as much as possible; I hid for 
them what was given me for my meals. One day, one of my sis- 
ters said to me: "Have you eaten what was given you?" I replied, 
"Yes." My intention was to say, if the body had not eaten it, the 
soul had. I spoke of this once to my confessor, saying that I had 
deceived my sisters by telling them, with this intention, that I had 
eaten. I asked him if it was not a lie, for I would not willingly 
tell one for the whole world ; and when I spoke in this way I be- 
lieved I was telling the truth. He replied: "Who taught you 
that? Certainly there was no lie, since your intention was to give 
the repast to your soul." This is what I did to honor the Passion 
of Jesus Christ. 

What I am about to say, and part of what has been said, is far 
from my subject, but I write it here for fear of forgetting it, as has 
been commanded me to do. 

I will tell you what happened me one Good Friday when I was 
still very little. A great preacher visited our church. My sisters 
and I went to the sermon. I went with the ardent desire that the 
preacher would tell us wonderful things of the love with which 
Jesus Christ suffered. But the holy man said scarcely anything 
to my taste. I felt deeply pained during the whole sermon. It 
grieved me to hear him speak so coldly. I commenced to weep. 
My sisters said to me, "Little one, why do you weep?" I replied, "I 
weep because the Father did not preach well." They said, "What 
do you know about it?" "I assure you," I told them, "that if I 
could preach I would speak better on that subject, if I can judge 
by what I feel in my heart." 

Once, when sleeping in our holy Mother's cell at Avila, I be- 
held myself in presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, as a Judge, 
was about to pass judgment upon me. I found myself, then, in 
purgatory. It was a vast expanse of water, one would say, the 
widest part of a great river; but in place of water it was all fire, 

25 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

and a fire which was suffocating in its intensity. I thought myself 
buried in the fire half way up my body. There were a great num- 
ber of souls who were completely immersed in it; others not en- 
tirely. Being in the condition I have described, I saw my guardian 
angel coming toward me; he was very beautiful and wonderfully 
brilliant; he said to me: "Do you feel the fire very much?" "Yes," 
I said, "but with the hope of seeing our Lord soon, I do not suffer 
much pain." Wicked angels, armed with hooks, went along the 
border of the river, threatening to seize me, but they did me no 
harm. Soon the good angel, of whom I have spoken, came, and 
the vision disappeared. I awoke and I was as wet as if I had been 
thrown into the water, but I was quite glad to find that I was still 
living, for I thought the time of exile was over. This vision took 
place a few days after my entrance in the monastery of St. Joseph 
of Avila. When the Saint and the Sisters saw me they asked what 
had happened, for I had the appearance of one risen from the 
grave. I told the Saint what I had seen in sleep ; she said to me 
laughingly : "Do not worry, my child ; you will never go to purga- 
tory." I considered these words as spoken through kindness, and 
never thought the Saint meant them otherwise ; I thought, on the 
contrary, that I would have a long purgatory, and that God would 
do me a great favor to send me there rather than to a more fright- 
ful abyss, considering the way I have lived. 



26 



CHAPTER IV 

LOVE OF GOD 

How She Was Unceasingly Consumed With the Fire of Love of God and 
Zeal for Souls, Without Being Able to Distract Herself — Her Con- 
fessor Told Her It Was an Illusion, But St. Teresa Reassured Her — 
How Our Lord Rewarded Her Obedience — Visit of the Divine Master, 
When He Seemed to Take Away Her Heart — Vision in Which the 
Eternity of God Was Made Manifest to Her. 

I come back to that interior disposition which I commenced to 
speak of; to those habitual outbursts of the love of God and those 
transports of zeal excited by the sight of the souls our Lord had 
shown me. All I could do was, in my opinion, little, in comparison 
with my desires. 

The confessor, noticing that this zeal and love for souls, which 
never left me, lasted so long a time, said to me one day : "My 
child, pay attention to me. This is a charity which comes from 
the devil, and will end by deceiving you." I went to our holy 
Mother and begged her to tell me if this was so, and gave an 
account of all that had passed in me. She told me not to be 
troubled, that this did not come from the demon ; that she, herself, 
had passed through this kind of prayer, and that she had met con- 
fessors who did not understand her. With this reply I was con- 
soled, and I believed what the Saint told me — God, Himself, had 
spoken through her mouth. It was not in my power to restrain 
the love of God and zeal for souls that burned in my heart with- 
out ever leaving me. As I did not sleep, our Saint said one day 
to me: "My daughter, as soon as the bell gives the signal for 
retiring, leave your prayer and go to sleep." I wished to obey and 
to do exactly what had been commanded me. Therefore, I said to 
our Lord, when I was about to take repose : "My Lord, I have 
not permission to remain with you ; you must let me go to sleep." 
Wonderful to relate — showing how our Lord wishes us to obey 
— the Adorable Master allowed me to sleep as long as the others ; 
and on awaking I immediately found Him in my soul ; it seemed 
that He was there to guard and protect my sleep. My body was 
filled with astonishing agility, it seemed no longer a human body ; 
so much so, that I feared some deceit, for, having so many duties 
to fulfill, I rose up and walked about, feeling as light as a feather; 
and in whatever place I might be, provided I was allowed a little 
rest, I was filled with the love of God of which I have just spoken. 

One day I was seated, occupied with my work, near the Turn — 
for, in order to distract me, they gave me several offices. My soul 
commenced to be more than usually inflamed with love of this 
Divine Spouse; and whilst I was in this state the Divine Master 
drew near to me, appearing exteriorly as when in this world. From 
His manner of approaching me He seemed to have some particular 

27 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

favor in reserve for me. Scarcely had He reached me, when He 
placed His hand on my heart, and it seemed to me He had taken 
it out. I experienced such intense pain that, spontaneously, with- 
out being aware of it, I uttered this compaint: "Why, my good 
Master, do you thus take away my heart?" He left it to me, how- 
ever, but in such a way that it seemed to beg to leave my body, 
and was a prey to excessive pain. These visits made it impossible 
for me to distract myself. 

Another day I was praying in a hermitage; I was raised to a 
supernatural state, and during this ecstasy I was shown the eter- 
nity of the Most Holy Trinity; and though this was truly shown 
me I do not know how to explain it ; it lasted only a moment, the 
time of opening and closing the eyes ; it is something beyond my 
comprehension. While I was in this state of recollection the bell 
called us to the refectory for collation. Without realizing it, and 
like one asleep, I rose up at the sound of the bell and went to the 
refectory; and it was not until after I was seated at the table, 
when some water fell on my hands, that I came to myself; it 
seemed as if I was awaking from a dream. 



28 



CHAPTER V 

DUTIES APPOINTED HER 

Extreme Feebleness to Which She is Reduced by Transports of the Love 
of God During One Year — The Divine Master Makes Known to Her 
That She is to Be Companion to St. Teresa, and That Both Could 
Satisfy Their Thirst for Suffering in Their Journeys Making Founda- 
tions — After a Year's Absence, St. Teresa Returns From Seville to 
Avila — She Cures the One Whom Our Lord Destines for Her Com- 
panion and Gives Her Care of the Sick — The Divine Master Assists 
Her in a Miraculous Manner. 

Owing to the transports of love of God which I experienced, 
my nature and strength became so weak that it seemed I was about 
to give way. Physicians were called, but they did not understand 
my sickness. Some said that I was consumptive. They gave me 
several remedies, which only succeeded in ruining my constitution. 
I became so weak I was no longer able to raise my feet from the 
ground. 

At this time our holy Mother left for Seville. She could not 
take me with her. As I had so great a desire for suffering, I said 
to the Divine Master: "Lord, I have asked Thee for sufferings, 
but now, as I realize those that I have add a burden to the com- 
munity, I desire Thee to give me such as I can bear alone, so that 
I can serve my Sisters without increasing their labor. I wish 
these sufferings for myself." The Divine Master answered: 'T 
will do what you ask of Me : you will have something to suffer 
together with my friend Teresa. You will both find in traveling 
the sufferings so ardently desired." 

I continued, however, in the same condition until the return of 
our holy Mother from Seville. She had been absent one year. 
The Saint found me in a most miserable state ; it seemed as if all 
my bones were dislocated. However, on the very evening of her 
return she said to me : "My daughter, come to my cell, even 
though you are ill just now." And, truly, to all appearance I was 
entirely incapable of serving her. 

There were at that time five in the house ill with fever ; one of 
them, Isabelle Baptist, was in great danger; besides the fever she 
had so great disgust for food she could take nothing. The day 
after her arrival, in the morning, the Saint said to me: "My 
daughter, though you are ill, I wish you to take charge of the sick, 
as there is no one else to attend to them." I said not a word, 
fearing to act contrary to obedience; but I thought to myself: 
"How can I fill this office, since I can scarcely lift my feet from 
the ground?" As well as I could I dragged myself to the kitchen 
to prepare something for the one who was most sick. To reach 
her cell I was obliged to go up a staircase of twelve steps. I 
stopped at the foot of the staircase and said to the Divine Master : 
"Lord, come to my aid; I cannot go up one single step." The 

29 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

Adorable Master appeared then at the top of the staircase ; He was 
ravishingly beautiful, as in the other apparitions, and under the same 
form as when He conversed with men. He said to me, "Ascend !" 
At this word I found myself at His feet, without having expe- 
rienced the least suffering. He went with me to the cell of the 
sick one, He leaned over the head of the bed, like an infirmarian 
who wished to soothe the sick, and said to me : "Place here what 
you carry, and go give to the others what they need ; I will Myself 
serve this one." I went, but I was cured ; I felt as strong as if I 
had never had the least sickness ; I hurried as fast as possible, 
earnestly hoping to find my dear Master on my return. But, not- 
withstanding all the haste I could make, when I returned I could 
not find Him. The sick one was radiant with joy; she said to me: 
"My Sister, what kind of dishes have you brought me? In all my 
life I have never eaten anything more to my taste." I did not tell 
her then of the vision I had had, notwithstanding the great friend- 
ship which existed between us. I asked her if, during my absence, 
some Sister had not been with her. She replied in the negative. 
At this reply I kept silence. She told me, however, that never be- 
fore had she felt greater resignation or consolation in her soul, and 
that it seemed to her that she had no longer any trouble. Soon all 
my sick were cured, and the holy Mother said to me : "I make you 
Prioress of the sick; therefore, do not ask me any permission for 
what you consider necessary for them." 



30 



CHAPTER VI 

APPOINTED TO CARE FOR THE SICK 

Return of Fervor — Power of Obedience — Anne Charged With the Care of 
the Sick and the Labor of the House — Assistance of Our Lord — 
Heavenly Joy She Experiences in Taking Care of the Holy Mother 
— A Sister Miraculously Cured — Words of the Divine Master, Which 
Confirm Anne of St. Bartholomew in Her Great Desire to Serve All 
the Sisters — Heroic Charity Which She Practises During Forty Days. 

My fervor of the past returned. I had great need of exterior 
occupations to resist it. I was like a man with a fine appetite who 
has before him a great number of dishes which he devours with 
his eyes, but who realizes if he indulges his appetite he will be 
lost; he uses moderation, therefore, but the more he controls him- 
self the greater his hunger becomes. I practised charity, seizing 
every occasion that presented itself: I did this through the favor 
of our Lord who had given me health and furnished me with occa- 
sions of practising this virtue towards my Sisters. I did not merit 
it, but the Divine Master in His love enabled me to merit it. 

The religious were greatly astonished when the holy Mother 
ordered me to care for the sick, being at the time so ill myself, but 
God permitted it so, that they might see the efficacy of the com- 
mands of Superiors, and the wisdom which guided our holy Mother 
in all that she commanded. In obeying her order I was cured. 
All the Sisters were astonished beyond measure, and I more than 
the others, knowing how unworthy I was of so great a favor. 

While I was infirmarian I was obliged to take care of a religious 
who was very ill. One day, seeing that she was resting, I left her 
and went to hide for a little while in a cave to pray. While my 
soul was recollected I heard a living voice saying to me : ''Come, 
rise up!" I replied, "My Lord, what is your command?" — for I 
recognized His sweet voice ; but He did not reply, I went out to 
see what was wanted of me and learned that they were searching 
for me all over the house, as the sick Sister had asked for me. As 
soon as I reached her I saw that she had had a weak spell, and that 
my attentions were indeed necessary. 

Besides caring for the sick I had all the work of the house to 
do, as the Saint had ordered. I also waited on the holy Mother 
herself, thus enjoying her loving company, serving her with inde- 
scribable joy and an agility of iDody altogether supernatural, just 
as one might expect of the Divine Master who worked all this 
in me. 

Another religious became very ill with a carbuncle on her eye. 
This trouble is very dangerous in our country. The physicians 
soon gave her up. The surgeon, however, continued his remedies. 
One day, being obliged to leave the city to visit another patient, 
he warned me very particularly not to allow anyone to touch the 

31 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

wound until his return, adding that he would be back very soon. 
I gave this sick Sister all the care necessary, and I did so with 
such promptness and such agility, it seemed to me, I no longer 
felt the weight of my body. This Sister was a great servant of 
God. She was called Petronilla Baptist. At night I slept near 
her, and in my sleep I saw two religious of our Order enter. They 
seemed to me to be Elias and Eliseus. They drew near the sick 
one, they took away the bandage from the wound on her eyes and 
bathed them. The smaller one, who was Eliseus, came and went 
with what was necessary, with astonishing promptness. When 
they had finished their ministrations to the sick one, they said to 
me, "This is how you should take care of the sick, and not with 
the negligence you show." I understood by these words that our 
works appear very differently in the eyes of God than in the eyes 
of men. I thought I acquitted myself of my office very well, but 
I saw after this lesson that the best in me was very imperfect 
before God. 

It was not because I was good that our Lord granted me these 
favors, but that His goodness might be made manifest. Although 
I was so unworthy of grace, this Adorable Master sought me out 
even when I wasTeast occupied with the thought of Him, in order 
that I might not be lost, and that His kindness might cause admira- 
tion. I performed these labors with great consolation, when obe- 
dience ordained them. I had no merit in this ; without thinking 
of the wickedness which must be in me and the numerous faults 
which escaped my attention, I found consolation in these labors, 
and it seemed to me I did all for the love of God. As my Adorable 
Master saw this, and because He loved me. He took care to send 
me certain trials, that I might see my self-love, and in order to 
temper my ardor. 

At this time, when I had charge of these duties, and when I 
earnestly desired that obedience would allow me a little time to 
be alone with our Lord, I entered one day into a state of super- 
natural recollection after Communion; the Divine Master then 
said to me: "Arise! My will is that you should conform to the 
wishes of all the Sisters and in all that they command you." It 
was a great consolation for me to know that that was the will of 
our Lord. I was satisfied with these words, because they author- 
ized me to go forward with greater liberty, for, naturally, I was 
much inclined to give pleasure, and I feared sometimes it might be 
a species of self-love ; the Divine Master by these words relieved 
me of this doubt. 

Another time I was seated near the door, as I was portress. 
I was feeling somewhat hurt, as it seemed to me the older Sisters 
were not satisfied that the Prioress had placed me at the Turn, 
because I was still young, and I thought that they were right un- 
der the present circumstances. In this mood I saw in spirit our 
Lord showing me a withered rosebush in the courtyard, all cov- 
ered with red and white roses; as it was dried up and it was not 
the season of roses, the Divine Master said to me: "These roses 

32 



Appointed to Care for the Sick 

cannot be gathered without encountering the thorns." He wished 
to make me understand, by that, that it is by sufferings and con- 
tradictions that virtue is acquired. 

I will say here, for the glory of our Lord, that He always gave 
me consolation when I did good to my neighbor, when the occa- 
sion presented itself, and when I aided them in their need. I 
inconvenienced myself, it is true, on these occasions, but I found 
instead of an inconvenience it was a real consolation. It is to the 
good Master I owe it, and it has remained so with me until this 
day. May His holy Name be blessed ! 

By a secret of His love, the Divine Master wished to purify 
in the crucible of suffering one of His dearest spouses at St. Joseph 
of Avila ; this religious was Anne of St. Peter. He sent her sud- 
denly a terrible leprosy which covered her body. The angelic 
patient recognized this as a gift from the hand of her Well-Beloved 
and knew how to correspond with the designs of His love. The 
physicians advised that she should be sent away from the convent, 
fearing her sickness might be contracted, at least by those who 
must wait on her. God insired me with a great desire to take care 
of her. I spoke of it to a Sister who suddenly wished to aid me 
in order to prevent the sick one from leaving the convent. We 
went to find the Prioress, and begged her on our knees to permit 
us to take care of her, assuring her that we were ready to serve 
her in every way. Touched by our resolution, the Prioress con- 
sented with pleasure. The physicians ordered the most violent 
disinfectants. The convent was poor and could not provide the 
quantity of linens that would have been necessary. Therefore I 
was obliged to wash during the night the linens which had been 
used during the day, in order to give her always what was proper. 
Her body was one wound and her flesh began to putrefy ; it exhaled 
an odor that we could never have been able to endure if God had 
not strengthened us, and this odor clung to everything that 
touched her body. I waited on her, therefore, during the day, and 
during the night I washed the linens infected with this intolerable 
odor of which I have just spoken. I did this for forty days in 
succession. Besides this I was obliged to serve at the Turn, as 
we were few in number. I did all this with an agility and ease 
that astonished me; God caused me to consider it as a recreation. 
The odor of the sick one was such that the others could not even 
pass near her cell. As for her, as I have said, she was an angel 
in virtue, and God loved her. He must, undoubtedly, have found 
great pleasure in seeing my companion and myself taking no ac- 
count of our repugnances, and lavishing our care upon her. I felt 
neither fatigue nor the loss of sleep, nor want of nourishment; 
it was the same with my companion ; it was evident that God was 
with us. 

One day, touched by the excessive sufferings of the sick one, 
I begged the Divine Master to be pleased to relieve her. He re- 
plied that she had not yet gained sufficient merit, and that it was 
not time to free her from suffering. But at the end of forty days 

33 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

her sufferings were exchanged for joy. I saw her, and our holy 
Mother, who was then at the Monastery of the Incarnation, also 
saw her, at the side of the Divine Master, who showed her much 
love and showered favors upon her. In order to increase her 
merits and sanctity God caused her to carry new crosses, interior 
as well as exterior. As Prioress, she governed in a saintly man- 
ner the Monastery of Avila. And later, when she had finally placed 
the last jewel in her crown of merit, I saw her ascend to heaven, 
all resplendent with glory. 



34 



CHAPTER VII 



AFFLICTIONS 



St. Teresa Breaks Her Arm — Affliction and Solicitude of Anne of St. Bar- 
tholomew — Apparition of Our Lord to His Servant Under the Form of 
the Eoco Homo — Another Apparition of the Divine Master, on Wednes- 
day in Holy Week. 

At this time our holy Mother broke her arm. She was on her 
way one evening to the Choir for Compline. It was already grow- 
ing dark and she had a staircase to descend before entering the 
choir. The evil spirit threw her from the top of the staircase to 
the bottom. By the fall her arm was broken in the middle. The 
suffering she endured was great ; all the Sisters sympathized deeply 
with her, and I more than the others because I loved her very much 
and endured with her her labors and pains. Besides these duties 
given me by our Lord, I had other sick to care for; besides, I had 
charge of the pantry and was assistant in the kitchen. These dif- 
ferent employments obliged me to do during the night what was 
necessary for our holy Mother. I reserved the day for the service 
of the other religious. 

One day, during Mass, I experienced pain in my soul ; from this 
pain I entered into a supernatural recollection, and whilst I was in 
this state our Lord appeared to me under the form of the Ecce 
Homo, as He was when Pilate presented Him to the people, 
crowned with thorns. His hands bound, a rope about His neck, 
and His whole body covered with wounds ; the clamorous cries of 
the Jews, "Crucify Him ! Crucify Him !" rang in my head. The 
Divine Master approached me and said to me lovingly: ''My 
daughter, see the condition I am in. Do you think your sufferings 
can compare with Mine?" These words pierced my heart like 
arrows and caused me to be so inflamed with love that I felt filled 
with courage to endure for the future much greater sufferings. 
This vision passed aAvay quickly, and I remembered what our Lord 
had formerly told me : that I would have much to suffer. I was 
delivered of the weakness that caused me to complain of little 
pains, and found strength in the remembrance of the vision when 
the Divine Master had told me that I would have much to suffer 
in company with the Saint. 

As for her, subject as she was to many infirmities, she suffered 
extremely during her journeys; her sufferings greatly outweighed 
mine. But I shared all hers and experienced a pain that I knew 
not how to express, when in the inns I could find scarcely anything 
necessary for the relief of this holy Mother. 

Another time, while at the Convent of St. Joseph of Avila, on 
Wednesday in Holy Week, I was thinking of the sufferings which 
would overwhelm our Lord during His Passion. My soul became 
recollected, and during this recollection the Divine Master ap- 

35 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

peared to me as a man who takes to flight because they wish to 
capture him and enters the door of a friend's house. It was thus 
that He entered my soul. But His countenance was extremely 
troubled, as that of a man who turns to see who is about to arrest 
him. He did not address me a single word. I felt so afflicted that 
I said to Him: "Lord, what wiliest Thou? Here is my heart, 
enter it." But, without saying anything. He went out, leaving 
me full of grief at the sight of His affliction. 

When our holy Mother held Chapter, the Divine Master was 
often pleased to console us. It seemed to us as if we were in 
heaven, and the Saint was sometimes resplendent with glory. 



36 



CHAPTER VIII 

JOY IN TENDING ST. TERESA 

Sufferings of St. Teresa and Her Companion in Their Journeys — Extraor- 
dinary Sufferings Endured at Burgos During the Inundation of 
That City; Miraculous Help — With What Charity and Joy Anne Cared 
for St. Teresa Until Her Last Sigh. 

I will return to the sufferings we endured in our journeys. 
This is what occurred at the foundation of Villanueva de la Jara. 
We had no other water but that drawn from a very deep well. 
One day, when the Saint was having a windlass constructed in 
order to draw the water more easily, she went out to look at it; 
the workman forgot to fasten the windlass and it commenced to 
turn. As God loved the Saint, He wished to give her occasion for 
merit. The handle struck the sore arm and wounded it again. A 
few days after an abscess formed on it, and so serious was it that 
if God had not granted the favor of leaving her with us a little 
longer there would have been no remedy for it. We were expect- 
ing her death when the abscess broke. This martyrdom of the 
Saint was like death for all her daughters, and for me in par- 
ticular. 

If I were obliged to recount all the sufferings she had to endure 
during the years that I was with her, I would never finish. What 
she tells in her writings is nothing in comparison with the reality. 
The account of the foundation of Burgos, which was the last, de- 
picts only a very small part of what she suffered there. And what 
poverty ! The necessaries of life were wanting to us. I recall one 
day, when the Saint was extremely weak, I had nothing to give 
her but a little bread soaked in water. The river had overflowed 
to such an extent that the inhabitants of Burgos could not aid us, 
and for our part we could not send out anyone on any account, 
our house being far from the city and on the bank of the river. 
The water rose to such a height that it flooded our monastery, and, 
as it was an old building, at each motion of the river it shook as 
if about to fall. The Saint's room was so poor that the light from 
the sky could be seen through the roof; the walls were full of 
cracks, and it was exceedingly cold, for the climate at Burgos is 
very severe. The river rose to the first floor of our house. Seeing 
our danger, we hastened to have the Blessed Sacrament carried 
to the highest part of the building, and each succeeding hour we 
thought we should be drowned. We began to recite Litanies. 
From six in the morning until midnight we were in this peril with- 
out eating or without a moment's repose. Our only fear was that 
our holy Mother would perish in the water before our eyes. As 
for her, she was the most afflicted person in the world. She had 
just founded the house, and our Lord left her so alone that she 
knew not what was best to do, whether to remain quietly in the 

27 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

monastery or to go out, as so many other religious had done from 
theirs. During this time we were all so anxious that we never 
thought of giving anything to our holy Mother. It was quite late 
when she said to me: "My daughter, see if there is any bread 
left; give me a mouthful; I feel very weak." This broke my 
heart. But what could I do? The bread was under water; we 
sent a novice who was strong down into it ; it reached to her waist ; 
finally she found the bread, and we gave a little of it to our holy 
Mother, for we had nothing else. And if some sailors had not 
brought us help, we would have perished; but it really seemed 
as if these sailors were God's angels. We did not know how 
they came, nor how they entered under the water and broke in 
the doors of the house, so that the water began to recede from 
the rooms; but they had been so submerged, and filled with so 
many stones, that more than eight carts were necessary to carry 
away what the water had brought in. Our holy Mother's apart- 
ment, as I have already said, shook and seemed on the point of 
falling. It was so rickety that the night air could easily have 
caused our Mother's death. I had two coverings on my bed. I 
stretched one above her head during the night and the other around 
her bed; I did it in such a way that she did not perceive it, for if 
she had seen that I was depriving myself she would never have 
permitted it. As soon as she fell asleep, I would gently draw near 
and seat myself beside her bed. When she would call me I would 
act as if coming from my cell, and the Saint would say : "My 
daughter, how is that you came so quickly?" At other times, see- 
ing that she slept, I would go out to wash her linen ; as she was 
sick it was a consolation to me to give her clean clothing, for she 
greatly loved neatness. Many nights I passed without closing my 
eyes, but I did not feel the loss of sleep. So happy was I to give 
her pleasure, and this great happiness that I experienced lasted 
until her death. The day she died she could not speak. I changed 
all her linen, headdress and sleeves, and she looked at herself, 
quite satisfied to see herself so clean ; and, turning her eyes to- 
wards me, she looked at me smilingly, and showed her gratitude 
by signs. 

To return to what I was saying [about the foundation at 
Burgos], I felt as strong and my mind as peaceful as if I had vslept 
entire nights and had been delicately nourished. Our Lord did 
this for the consolation of the Saint, for if she had noticed that the 
work injured my health it would have caused her much pain. 
God, for love of His friend, worked this miracle as well as others 
in a miserable sinner like myself. I did not deserve to serve her; 
therefore, I lived in great fear of having profited so little by such 
a grace. And I had great reason to fear, for when still very young 
I loved very much to play and recreate with other little girls of 
my own age, and when I had some scruple I would say to our 
Lord: "My Lord, if I had the happiness of living with a Saint I 
would be better, I would do what I saw her do, and would take 
pattern by her example." Owing to these thoughts I would be 

38 



Joy in Tending St. Teresa 

covered with confusion returning from play. If it pleased the 
Divine Master to grant me such a grace, it was not because of 
my desires; truly it can easily be believed that these desires did 
not come from me, but from Him. He had already in His wisdom 
and mercy arranged all, disposed of all, and He inspired me with 
this desire in order that when finally finding myself in this holy 
company, and for all that not performing my duty, I would be 
overwhelmed at having been so proud and vain as to desire a 
favor of which I was not worthy, and from which I did not profit 
as another would have done in my place. 



39 



CHAPTER IX 

DEPARTURE FOR ALBA 

Departure From Burgos for Alba — New Sufferings of St. Teresa During 
the Journey — Charity of Anne of St. Bartholomew — Heroic Patience 
of the Saint. 

I will return to the sufferings which the Saint endured in her 
journeys. After all she had been obliged to endure in the founda- 
tion of the Monastery of Burgos, our Lord said to her : "You may 
go on ; sufferings have not been wanting to you here, but there 
remain still others for you to endure." The prediction of the Divine 
Master was verified ; from Burgos to Alba the route was one chain 
of sufferings for the Saint. At Vallodolid, where she stopped to 
find a little repose, she found only an increase of pain ; the Divine 
Master gave her part of His cross to beautify her crown. On leav- 
ing Vallodolid she went to Medina-del-Campo ; this was on the 
way to the Monastery of Avila, of which she was Prioress. The 
very evening of our arrival at Medina, she had a recommendation 
to make the Prioress regarding something which was not done as 
it should be. In order to increase her merit, God permitted that 
the Prioress should take this counsel in very bad part. The Saint 
was deeply grieved ; she retired to one apartment and the Prioress 
to another. The Saint experienced such intense pain on account 
of what had taken place, that she passed the night without eating 
or sleeping. In the morning we left without receiving any pro- 
vision for the journey, and yet the Saint was already ill with the 
sickness of death. During that whole day I could find nothing 
to give her to eat. The following day, having reached a little ham- 
let, we found ourselves in the same poverty ; there was absolutely 
nothing to eat, and the Saint was extremely weak. She said to 
me: "My child, give me something, for I feel very badly." I had 
only some dry figs, and the Saint was burning with fever. I gave 
some one four reals to find me two eggs, no matter at what price. 
When I found that with money they had not been able to find any- 
thing and they returned my reals, I could not look at the Saint 
without weeping, for she appeared like one half dead. The sor- 
row I experienced on this occasion was beyond words to express. 
It seemed to me that my heart would break, and I did nothing 
but weep in my exceeding pain to see her dying, and to be unable 
to find anything to relieve her. She said to me with angelic 
patience: "Do not weep, my child! God wishes it so now." As 
she drew near her happy passage to the eternal life, our Lord 
tried her in every way; but she accepted it as she always did, 
that is to say, like a Saint. But I suffered greatly, being less morti- 
fied than she. It was necessary that the Saint should console me; 
therefore she said : "Do not be troubled at all ; I am satisfied with 
the fig I have just eaten." 

40 



CHAPTER X 

LAST MOMENTS OF ST TERESA 

Their Arrival at Alba — Sickness and Last Moments of St. Teresa — The 
Care Lavished Upon Her by Her Faithful Companion Notwithstanding 
the Excess of Her Grief — The Last Day, the 4th of October, the 
Saint Enters Into Ecstasy at Seven in the Morning and Remains in 
It Until Nine in the Evening, Her Head Resting on the Heart and 
Supported by the Arms of Anne of St. Bartholomew — At Nine O'Clock 
Anne Saw Jesus Christ Come to Seek Her and Her Soul Fly Like a 
Dove to Heaven — Return of Anne of St. Bartholomew to Avila. 

The day after our arrival at Alba, she was so greatly exhausted 
that the physicians feared, for the moment, that she could not live : 
a great sacrifice for me, the greater because I must remain in this 
world. For, aside from the love I bore her and that she had for 
me, I had another great consolation in her company: almost con- 
tinually I saw Jesus Christ in her soul and the manner in which 
He was united to it, as if it was His heaven. This knowledge 
filled me with the deep reverence one should feel in the presence 
of God. Truly it was heavenly to serve her, and the greatest tor- 
ture was to see her suffer. I spent about fourteen years with her. 
Immediately, when I entered to receive the habit, she took me 
into her cell, and during the rest of her life I was always with 
her, except during her journey to Seville ; for then, as has already 
been said, I was sick at Avila. And these fourteen years seemed 
to me less than one day. The Saint, for her part, was so accus- 
tomed to my poor and awkward service, that she would not be 
without me. She showed this very plainly in the following cir- 
cumstance : I fell sick with a fever the very eve of the day when 
she was to leave for the visitation of her monasteries. I was not 
at all in a condition to undertake the journey. She said to me: 
"Do not be disturbed, my child ! I shall leave orders here to send 
you to me as soon as the fever leaves you." But at midnight, 
when she sent a religious to ask how I was, I found that I was 
free from fever. She rose from her bed, came to me, and said : 
"It is true, my daughter, you no longer have any fever; we can 
easily undertake the journey. I hope it may be so, and I will 
recommend the matter to God." And so it was; we left in the 
morning. During the five days preceding her death at Alba, I 
was more dead than alive. Two days before her death, she said 
to me once when we were alone : "My child, the hour of my death 
has come." This pierced my heart more and more. I did not leave 
her for a moment. I begged the religious to bring me what was 
necessary for her. I gave it to her. It was a consolation to her 
for me to do so. The day of her death she was unable to speak 
from early morning: in the evening, the Father who was attend- 
ing her (Father Anthony of Jesus, one of the two first Discalced 
Carmelites) told me to go take some nourishment. But scarcely 

41 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

had I left than the Saint became restless ; with an anxious air she 
looked from one side to the other. The Father asked her if she 
wished me near her. She answered yes, by signs. They called 
me; I hastened back. As soon as she saw me, she smiled at me, 
showed me such condescension and afifection that she caught me 
with her two hands and rested her head in my arms. I held her 
thus in my embrace until she expired, being more dead than the 
Saint herself; for, as for her, she was so inflamed with love for 
her Spouse that she sighed for the moment of parting from her 
body in order to be with Him. 

As our Lord is so good and saw how little patience I had to 
bear this cross, He appeared to me at the foot of the Saint's bed 
in all His Majesty, accompanied by His blessed ones who came 
to seek her soul. This glorious vision lasted the space of a Credo, 
giving me time to exchange my pain and grief for a great resigna- 
tion, to ask pardon of our Lord and say to Him : '*My Lord, even 
should Your Majesty wish to leave her for my consolation, I would 
ask You, now that I have witnessed Your glory, not to leave her 
one moment in this exile." Scarcely had I uttered these words 
than she expired, and this blessed soul soared like a dove to enjoy 
the possession of her God. 

As the Saint loved me so much, I had begged her to console 
me, and to ask of our Lord for me perfect liberty of spirit, with- 
out attachment for anyone whomsoever. I was naturally affec- 
tionate, and I loved the Saint more than anyone could love her, 
also the other religious whom I saw advanced in perfection and 
loved by the Saint. I loved them very much; and sometimes the 
Saint told me this attachment for friends was not good for my 
soul, and I must overcome it for my spiritual welfare ; but until 
that hour when God called her to Himself, I had not succeeded. It 
was she who obtained this grace for me, for from that time I was 
free and detached and it seemed to me that I had a yet greater 
love for the religious, loving them without any mixture of self- 
love; and, for the rest, it was as if I were alone in the world. I 
love all my Sisters in God and for God. I received such strength 
of soul to prepare the body of the Saint for burial, that I did it 
with as much calmness as if her death had been a matter of indif- 
ference to me. 

I wished to remain in that convent, but neither the Superior 
nor the religious of the Monastery of Avila, to which I belonged, 
would give their consent. They sent for me in haste. I felt some 
perplexity of soul. But the Saint appeared to me and said : "My 
daughter, obey the command given you, and depart!" 



42 



CHAPTER XI 

HER DEVOTION TO ST TERESA 

Her Devotion to St. Teresa — She is Carried by Angels to the Tomb of the 
Saint at Alba — They Show Her the Body Miraculously Preserved — 
Translation of the Holy Body to the Monastery of Avila — Favors Re- 
ceived by Anne of St. Bartholomew From the Saint. 

From the time of my return to the Convent of Avila, I prayed 
to the Saint and recommended myself to her. I spoke of this to 
my confessor. He told me it was wrong to recommend myself 
to a Saint who was not yet canonized and commanded me not to 
do it. That same night whilst asleep, the Saint appeared to me 
most glorious and resplendent. She said to me: "My child, ask 
of me anything you wish and I will obtain it for you." Awaken- 
ing, then, I said to her: 'T ask of you the Spirit of God, that it may 
always dwell in my soul." She disappeared, leaving me in perfect 
certainty of the opinion I had formed of her sanctity. The com- 
mand of my confessor, however, did not fail to cause me pain, for he 
had told me not to pray to her as a Saint. Even had not the signal 
favors granted her by God, and which proved that He loved her, 
led me to think her such, the consideration alone of the love with 
which she had endured for God so many labors, of which I was 
witness, and in which I had taken some part, would cause me to 
state as a certainty that she was a real Saint. , 

I may add, that what our Lord had said to me was fulfilled ; 
that in her company I would have great sufferings to share with 
her. I speak here of exterior sufferings ; as for those which the 
Saint endured and which were not apparent, they were beyond 
measure. 

I recall what happened to her one Christmas Eve; it was dur- 
ing the time of her great sufferings and persecutions. The Nuncio 
had given a permit authorizing the Calced Carmelites to take bodily 
possession of ail the Discalced. In the evening they had brought 
her a letter in which she was informed that the Discalced Car- 
melites were to be suppressed and that the Nuncio wished their 
houses destroyed. Before going to Matins I begged her to take a 
little collation. Whilst she was in the refectory, our Lord ap- 
proached her, cut the bread and put a piece in her mouth, saying 
to her: "My daughter, eat! I know that you suffer greatly, but 
take courage ; it cannot be otherwise." That night, while at Matins, 
her eyes were like two fountains of tears, and we could not look 
at her without weeping as she did. 

Her sufferings were such that we could not help feeling them 
intensely. There was not one in which I did not have a large share. 
As I loved her, and as I had had part in all her tribulations and 
sorrows, I was to share also her joys and felicity in heaven. 

From the time in which she appeared to me in such great glory, 
as I have already narrated, I earnestly desired that her holy body 

43 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

should be brought back to Avila. One day, occupied with this 
thought, and believing that they feared to remove the holy body 
because they knew not in what condition they would find it, I fer- 
vently begged of our Lord to make this known to me. Immediately 
I entered into a spiritual slumber, and angels carried me to the 
sepulcher; they opened it and showed me the body; it was entire, 
having the same color as when later they brought it forth from the 
tomb, and it exhaled the same odor and perfume. The angels 
showed me two sleeves on her arms, also entire and in the same 
condition as when I placed them there. They said: "Are you 
satisfied? Do you wish anything more?" I replied yes, that I 
would be more satisfied if I saw the Saint in her own convent at 
Avila, but that the Duke of Alba would never consent to it. They 
said to me: '*Do not make any account of the opposition of the 
Duke of Alba. It is the king who will decide; this matter depends 
on him alone." The Duke and Duchess of Alba died soon after, 
and the king, to please his heirs, was unwilling that the holy body 
should be transferred to Avila. Before this happened, the Order 
earnestly desired the translation of the holy body from Alba to 
Avila. My tender affection for the Saint led me to recommend the 
afifair to God with great fervor. Our Lord said to me : "Do not 
be troubled ; the holy body will return to this house." Continuing 
with importunity, I asked our Lord when this would take place, 
because I was eager to know. He replied : "It will be on the Feast 
of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin." There was still almost 
a year to wait ; but on the day fixed the thing was accomplished ; 
they took the body of the Saint from the house at Alba and trans- 
ferred it to that of Avila. It was received there with the liveliest 
transports of joy. The number of lights burning was so great the 
convent seemed like a heaven. The Saint gave a thousand proofs 
of tenderness towards her children ; in whatever part of the convent 
they might be, she appeared to them and consoled them. 

One day I spoke to my confessor of one of my soul's secrets, 
and he did not take it well ; he said to me : "That sounds to me like 
Mother Teresa; go on now, do not be like her, let those things 
alone." It seemed to me that he pronounced these words with 
but little esteem for our holy Mother. I was grieved because of 
this, and sought a solitary spot in the garden. There, deeply pained 
at the thought that the Saint was not appreciated as she deserved, 
I began to pray. Soon I entered a state of supernatural recollection, 
and in this state saw the Divine Master approaching me under the 
form He had when living in this world. He was robed in a most 
brilliant pontifical cope. When near me He raised one side of the 
cope — it was the side next to His Heart — and showed me the Saint 
resplendent in glory; He held her on His arm, as if she were no 
longer anything but a part of Himself, and said to me: "Behold 
her, I have brought her to you here ; be not at all troubled ; let them 
say what they will." After these words He disappeared. I felt 
within my soul a profound recollection and deeper fervor at the 
sight of the love God bore the Saint. 

44 



Her Devotion to St. Teresa 

On another occasion I begged the holy Mother to obtain for 
me from God the favor of knowing which of the virtues was most 
agreeable to Him, for I was impelled to make every effort to acquire 
it ; one day she appeared to me and said : "My child, it is humility." 

Very often the holy Mother strengthened me by a sentiment 
of love and by a heavenly odor of which I was as conscious as if 
I had been near her holy body. And though she did not show 
herself, I was aware of this perfume and the favor she did me in 
keeping near me. I will give a very striking example: Once I 
was overcome with fatigue; all the religious were ill, there was 
only one Sister and myself able with difficulty to keep on our feet 
and to wait on ourselves. I went to the tomb of the Saint and 
said to her: ''Mother, come to my aid; see me here before you, my 
body so crushed with fatigue that I cannot keep up. Give me 
strength ; I desire it only to serve all my Sisters." I felt the con- 
viction that she heard me and that she said to me : "Go, my child, 
I will do what you have asked of me." I went to the kitchen and 
scarcely had I commenced to stir the embers than I noticed the 
perfume of the Saint, as if she were there; there came forth from 
the ashes an odor similar to that exhaled by her holy body; this 
odor communicated such strength to my body that not the slighest 
trace of fatigue remained. My body had no more feeling than if 
it had been a spirit. There was not a shadow of lassitude, and 
this supernatural strength continued with me until all the reli- 
gious had recovered health. Very often the pans and everything 
I touched in the kitchen exhaled the odor of the relic of her holy 
body; it was something marvelous; one would have declared that 
she, herself, had touched these objects with her hands. 



45 



CHAPTER XII 

REVELATION REGARDING SPREAD OF THE ORDER 

First Revelation of Her Journey to France — The Divine Master Makes 
Known to Her at Different Times What is His Will Regarding This — 
Uselessness of Their Efforts to Detain Her in Spain. 

During the foundation of Ocagna, Christmas Eve after Matins 
I entered into deep recollection. During this spiritual slumber 
there was placed before my eyes my journey to France. I beheld 
myself on a dark sea, with companions who were all, with one 
exception, unknown to me. The effect of this vision was very 
great. I had often before felt a keen desire for martyrdom, but 
these desires, always accompanied by some fear, were far from 
being as perfect as those I experienced now, for I accepted martyr- 
dom for God's sake, not only with entire conformity of will and 
with joy, but also with a more intense love than I have ever felt 
when thinking of giving my life for God. 

Since this vision I have always had present to my mind that 
what God had shown me He willed to be my cross. But as the 
flesh was fearful, our Lord appeared to me one day in an intel- 
lectual vision ; I realized that He was present, but did not see Him ; 
He said to me : ''The olive and the grape must pass through the 
press of martyrdom to yield their liquor; it is by this way all My 
friends walk." He added: 'Tt is thus that I would have Thee" 
— and He disappeared. This vision excited within me new courage, 
for before that I was cast down. Taking heart once more, I offered 
myself again for all that God wished of me ; with all the sincerit}^ 
of which I was capable I placed my heart in His hands, and I felt 
that my determination was pleasing to Him. 

One day, after Communion, I was thinking of what a priest 
had said to me, that it was neither expedient nor necessary that 
religious women should go to France in the midst of so many here- 
tics ; that it was not for them to preach to them. As these words 
seemed to me true, our Lord appeared to me and said : "Pay no 
attention to what they have said to you: just as flies seek a drop 
of honey, so will you attract souls." This happened when the 
French were making most earnest efforts in Spain to obtain Span- 
ish nuns. Opinions were greatly divided on this point. As all 
those who had taken up the affair were learned men and great 
servants of God, those who doubted made me hesitate and wonder 
if it was God who spoke to me; but my confessors reassured 
me, declaring that it was God, and they gave me courage. The 
prospect of change of country, and these doubts which disturbed 
me, afflicted me greatly, though I had but one desire, that of know- 
ing God's will and doing what would be most agreeable to Him. 
As my heart was beaten by this tempest of doubt, God made known 
His will to other souls in order to dissipate my fears. A very 

46 



Revelation Regarding Spread of the Order 

holy religious in our monastery did not approve of my departure, 
and earnestly desired to see this plan abandoned. She said to the 
Divine Master: ''How can you wish this Sister to go so far away?" 
Our Lord replied to her that it must be so, and that it was not 
good to wish anything else. When she replied, that she feared 
all that this Sister would have to suffer, the Divine Master said 
to her: "Those who take honey away from the hives are stung, 
but they carry away the honey." 

All the religious of St. Joseph at Avila and all the inhabitants 
of the city recommended me to God. Everyone feared to see me 
leave for a strange country filled with heretics. In the convent 
the sorrow was general, for it was a house of God in which all 
the religious loved one another, and they were extremely fond 
of me, without my having in any way merited it. For my part, 
I loved them very much, because they were holy souls. 



47 



CHAPTER XIII 

PRAYERS FOR SALVATION OF FRANCE 

Many Souls in France, Like Moses, Raise Their Hands to Heaven for the 
Salvation of That Nation — For This End They Desire to Have the 
Daughters of St. Teresa. 

The Carmelites of Avila, as I have said, made every effort to 
prevent the Superiors from authorizing my departure, but it was 
useless because Divine Providence had from all eternity decreed 
that I should go. There is no country in the world so abandoned 
that God will not leave in it some Moses to pray for it with heart 
and "hands raised to heaven. This is what we see in France. When 
that country seemed in greatest danger of losing its faith, God 
left there not one but many Moses to raise their arms in behalf 
of their people, and to obtain mercy by their watchings, their 
mortifications and their tears. 

In this time of trial and desolation for the Catholics of France, 
there were to be found many among them who were very good 
and great servants of Jesus Christ. They knew that the great 
Teresa, the Mother of the Discalced Carmelites, had risen up with 
unsatiable zeal for the salvation of souls ; that in order to labor 
efficaciously for their salvation, this virgin, sustained by grace and 
full of the spirit of God, had reformed her Order, bringing it back 
to the observance of the primitive rule, and establishing in it all 
possible austerity; they saw, too, that her determined object was, 
as she says in her writings, that all those who would join her 
monasteries should be always engaged in prayer and holy ex- 
ercises of mortification and penance, in order to aid Jesus Christ 
and His Catholics in the conversion of the kingdom of France. 
This country was continually present to her thoughts, and she 
wished so earnestly for its salvation, that she did not cease to 
cry to God in order to obtain it. After having founded her first 
monastery of St. Joseph at Avila for this purpose, this Saint had 
founded many others of men as well as women, and when God 
called her to Himself, that she might enjoy the fruit of her labors, 
He left her Order in the form of a separate province. Finally, 
at her death and since, as God wished her to be known by the 
world. He glorified her by a great number of miracles. 

At this time, there were in Spain several Frenchmen who 
longed for the salvation of their people, and for this purpose 
earnestly wished to have the daughters of St. Teresa in France. 
But the one to whom, amongst all the rest, God gave the palm, 
was one of His servants, a French priest named M. de Bretigny. 



48 



CHAPTER XIV 

PROPHECY REGARDING MISSION 

The Divine Master Once More Makes Known to Her That It is His Will 
She Should Leave for France — Prophecy Regarding Her Mission in 
That Country — Apparition of the Archangel St. Michael; He En- 
courages Her to Go Without Fear — Six Resplendent Stars Appear 
Over the Monastery of St. Joseph at Avila, and Are a Figure of the Six 
Spanish Carmelites Destined to Go to France. 

Before the departure for France, our Lord spoke to another 
Sister in the Convent at Avila, and said to her: "Tell her to go 
and have no fears ; I say to her as to My disciples, that she will be 
affiicted and despised, but her tribulations will be turned into joy." 
That which my Adorable Master said to my friends strengthened 
me more than what He had spoken to me. 

Another day, suffering this same anxiety, I entered into a 
partly spiritual slumber. I then saw a young man of most noble 
bearing and armed as a warrior. He said to me : "Do not hesitate 
about leaving, and show some courage." From what I experienced 
in my soul, he who spoke to me was the Archangel St. Michael, 
to whom I had been devoted from my most tender years and to 
whom I prayed every day. 

All those who were to form the little colony met in our Con- 
vent at Avila on the Feast of St, Bartholomew. We remained 
there until the Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist. 
Before our departure and before the names of those who were 
to leave had been made known, there was seen in the heavens, 
for an entire month, very brilliant stars ; they shone during the 
day as well as the night, and each one was larger than ordinary 
stars ; they were a figure of those among us who were to leave 
for France, and I was the smallest of all. 

Some time before the departure, while I was experiencing the 
interior combats of which I have spoken, our Lord said to me: 
"See how the birds fly to the birdlime. It is thus that souls will 
adhere to you, and they will be Mine forever." 



49 



THIRD BOOK 

CHAPTER I 

DEPUTATION SENT FROM FRANCE 

Journey of M. de Bretigny to Spain, Several Years Before the Foundation 
of Carmel in Paris — He Tries, But in Vain, to Obtain Spanish Car- 
melites for France — Forced for the Time Being to Give Up His Plan, 
He Takes Away With Him the Writings of the Saintly Foundress and 
Has Them Translated Into French — The Reading of Them Increases 
the Desire of the French for the Daughters of St. Teresa — They Work 
for It Several Years; Finally Their Efforts Are Crowned With Success 
— Messrs. de Bretigny, de Berulle, Rene Gauthier, and Three French 
Ladies Go to Spain, and Take Back to France Six Spanish Carmelites. 

Some years before our departure for France, M. de Bretigny 
made a journey to Spain. He begged most earnestly of the Supe- 
riors of the Order permission to take some Spanish Carmelites to 
France; but he could not then succeed in his design. Not having 
been able to get the Carmelites, he took home the writings of the 
Saint and had them translated into French. As in these works 
there is so much said in favor of France, the French servants of 
God who had devotion to our holy Foundress loved her more 
and more, and took new courage. 

In several cities they gathered together some very virtuous 
high-born ladies to initiate them little by little into the spirit of 
this new Order. These reunions once well established, they asked 
permission of the king to found a monastery in Paris, desiring 
for this purpose to have Spanish Carmelites brought there; but 
in case the Carmelites were not willing, their plan was to have 
our Constitutions brought from Spain and be taught to these young 
ladies whom they had gathered together, with the intention of 
giving them the habit and making them daughters of the Order 
of our Holy Mother, St. Teresa. 

This first foundation having been arranged, the servant of God 
whom I mentioned above, M. de Bretigny, returned to Spain, bring- 
ing with him three noble French ladies. They intended, if their 
enterprise was successful, to take Spanish religious with them to 
France. Besides, during their stay in Spain, they were to learn 
the language of the country. Messrs. Rene Gauthier and de Berulle 
also went to Spain, not without meeting great dangers at sea, as 
they themselves narrated. For our Lord tried their courage in 
every way and on all sorts of occasions. But they were so faithful 
to God and so firm in their design, that nothing terrified them. 
They were several months in Spain without succeeding in obtain- 
ing religious from the Order. Seeing this, M. de Berulle and the 
others did their utmost and labored for a whole year before ob- 
taining from the Superiors of the Order what they asked. They 

50 



Deputation Sent From France 

had to endure much labor and many affronts ; this, because it was 
not known what great servants of God they were; for they cer- 
tainly were such — their works and the zeal they showed for the 
glory of God proved their great fervor. But in order that their 
virtue might be more purified, God permitted that they should 
not be esteemed at their proper worth. Some said that they were 
heretics, and other things of a similar nature. They suffered with 
much patience and humility, and, persevering in this way, their 
enterprise was crowned with success. 



51 



CHAPTER II 

JOURNEY TO FRANCE 

The Little Colony Leaves Avila on the Twenty-Ninth of August, Feast 
of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, and Sets Out for France — 
Particulars of the Journey. 

At last our Father General, Francis of the Mother of God, 
came to Avila with several Fathers of the Order to arrange for 
our departure. We left on the morning of the Feast of the Be- 
heading of St. John the Baptist. Our Father General accompanied 
us a great part of the day. When he was obliged to leave us we 
begged his blessing. He gave it with an emotion that was shared 
by all the religious. In parting, both Fathers and daughters made 
a great sacrifice to God. 

Two friars of our Order, great servants of God, two French 
priests, one of whom was M. de Berulle, and the other, M. Rene 
Gauthier, together with three Frenchmen on horseback, and several 
Spaniards, accompanied us on this journey. The three French 
ladies were alone in one carriage and the six religious in another. 
We were together in the inns. The French ladies taught us their 
language; it must be acknowledged we did not make great prog- 
ress in it; we learned sufficient, however, to understand most of 
what was said to us. But we did not speak fluently; we could, 
with difficulty, say only a few sentences. Our Lord wished to 
humble us in this, and I think it was best for us, for by speaking 
little we did not give disedification. Every nation has its own 
customs. 

We proceeded happily on our journey; but the devil, seeing 
how his plots might be ruined by our undertaking, commenced, 
our Lord so permitting, to try us by accidents and most painful 
fatigue. I will leave you to judge what poor women must have 
suffered in so long a journey; think, above all, what it must have 
cost poor religious — I say nothing of being obliged to go on foot — 
but to be exposed to the gaze of passers-by, and obliged to accept 
the assistance of the first-comer, to be helped in places over preci- 
pices, or out of the deep mire. I cannot think of all these dangers 
even now, without shivering with fear. 

But I know not how to give sufficient and well-deserved praise to 
our French companions for the unceasing care they took of us, and 
for the virtue they constantly manifested. They treated us with 
so much respect, their conduct was so perfect, that we felt under 
the greatest obligations to them, and were filled with confusion. 
During all that long journey, not an improper or impatient word 
was heard, not even were those little pleasantries permitted which 
are usually made use of to lighten the weariness and fatigue of 
journeying. For this I praise God; I appreciated their virtue and 

52 



Journey to France 

holiness ; I was charmed with the respect they showed to the habit 
of the Blessed Virgin and our holy Mother Teresa. 

Before reaching Bayonne, there was one day when the rain 
fell in such torrents that neither the driver of our carriage nor 
those on horseback could be of any help to us. On this occasion 
the good Master wished to try the patience of His servants. Night 
surprised us on a high mountain, and it was so dark we could not 
see our hand before us. Here we were obliged to remain, without 
any other shelter. It was the eve of the Feast of St. Mathew, and 
we had all forgotten it. God willed we should be in so great want 
that we had neither bread, wine nor water, except what was fall- 
ing from the skies ; it fell in such abundance one would have 
thought it was being poured on us by the bucketful. The wind 
was so great it seemed as if everything would be overturned. 
The sea near by could be heard roaring frightfully. Under other 
circumstances I would have feared greatly, but during the entire 
journey my soul was almost continually in the presence of her 
Spouse; from this I received great consolations and favors, and a 
peace and tranquillity which were surely from heaven. Once only 
was this calm disturbed. I was saddened at the thought that I was 
of so little use, a simple lay-Sister, and would be a burden instead 
of a help to the Order. But the Divine Master appeared to me 
fastened to the cross and full of love for my soul ; He consoled 
me and said : "My daughter, be of good courage ; I will help you 
and be with you." From that moment I experienced neither pain 
nor interior desolation. I felt, so it seemed to me, that the whole 
world already belonged to me, and that I was like a queen; en- 
joying a great sense of liberty in my soul. I felt real consolation 
at the sight of the little humiliations to which I might be obliged 
to submit in this world for the love of my God. All during the 
journey my soul enjoyed the presence of the Most Holy Trinity 
to such a degree that neither the many dangers nor any possible 
accident could deprive me of it; I was constantly recollected in 
prayer. 

That same day we crossed a bridge which spanned a great 
river. Scarcely had we reached the middle than the evil spirit 
attempted to throw us into the river to be engulfed in the water. 
Suddenly the mules took fright and the coach was raised up in 
the air on one side. Seized with fear at this sight, my companions 
cried out to God, and the coach crossed the bridge only to be 
overturned a little farther on. It could be easily seen that it was 
the work of the demon, for scarcely had we left the bridge than 
we were upset in a ditch filled with thorns and briars. I was 
seated next the door; the coach fell on this side and all my com- 
panions fell on me. All present cried out and said, speaking of 
me : "She is dead !" However, I felt neither the sting of the thorns, 
nor any painful shock ; it was as if God had held me in His arms. 
Whilst buried under the others, I heard someone crying aloud 
and knew not the cause. I soon learned that one had received a 
wound in the foot and another in the eye. It was necessary to 

53 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

call the surgeon of the place to dress their wounds. They were 
brave women and God treated them as such ; as I was nothing 
and good for nothing, our Lord spared me. 



54 



CHAPTER III 



ARRIVAL IN FRANCE 



Reception Given the Spanish Carmelites in France — Foundation of the First 
Monastery, the 18th of October, 160'1 — First French Novices — Some 
Remarks Concerning Andree Levoix. 

COMMENTARY 

From the Pyrenees to the capital of France the journey was 
pleasant. At Bordeaux, Saintes, Poitiers and Orleans, the Spanish 
Carmelites were received with the greatest honor and profound 
respect. M. de Berulle had gone in advance from Bayonne to an- 
nounce to the king the approach of the colony. The court was at 
Fontainebleau. Henry IV received M. de Berulle kindly, and 
charged him to recommend himself and his kingdom to the prayers 
of the Spanish Carmelites. Learning the day of their intended 
arrival in Paris, M. de Berulle and M. de Marillac preceded them 
to Longjumeau. When they joined the pious colony, they walked 
at its head towards the capital, which they entered about the 
15th of October, 1604; later, this day was consecrated to God as 
the Feast of St. Teresa. 

As they entered Paris by the gate of the Faubourg Saint 
Jacques, they soon reached the priority of Notre Dame des Champs, 
which was to be the first monastery. However, they did not think 
well to stop here on their arrival. As it was the octave of the 
Feast of St. Denis, they thought it would be only right to visit 
the spot which possessed the relics of this illustrious Apostle of 
the capital and was sanctified by his martyrdom. They therefore 
set out on their way to Saint Denis. When they were on the 
bridge of Notre Dame, two carriages joined those of the Spanish 
religious; the Duchess de Longueville, foundress of the first mon- 
astery, and her sister, the Princess d'Estouteville were in the 
first; the Marchioness de Breaute, Mme. Acarie* and her three 
daughters were in the second. As soon as they left the capital, 
they alighted to greet one another, and this greeting was made 
to the great satisfaction of both parties. They then re-entered 
their carriages and started for St. Denis, where they visited the 
church and the relics of the Abbey. The Carmelites, as well as 
the cortege which accompanied them from Paris, returned to the 
capital. Mme. Acarie did not sleep that night ; she was preoccupied 
with the thought of the blessings God had showered on the new- 
born Order. 

The following day, the 16th of October, the ladies who had 
conducted the Spanish Carmelites to St. Denis went with Mile. 
de Fonteines-Marans to meet the religious and take them to Mont- 

* Afterwards a Carmelite, and beatified as Blessed Mary of the In- 
carnation. 

55 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

martre, a village quite near Paris. M. de Bretigny said Mass in 
the Chapel of the Martyrs and gave Holy Communion to all present. 
Then they visited the Benedictine Monastery. The Abbess gave 
Mother Anne of Jesus and her companions a most gracious wel- 
come, and wished them to sleep in her house. Madame Jourdain 
availed herself of this occasion to see her daughter, who was 
eighteen years of age and had made her vows in this Abbey ; she 
saw her then for the last time, as fifteen days later she took the 
religious habit in the first Carmelite Convent. 

The following morning the Duchess of Longueville joined the 
Spanish Carmelites at Montmartre and conducted them to the 
Priority of Notre Dame des Champs. As soon as they entered, 
Mother Anne of Jesus, after the custom of St. Teresa in her founda- 
tions, intoned the Psalm ''Laudate Dominum/' which was con- 
tinued by her companions, and Sister Anne of St. Bartholomew 
went immediately to the kitchen to perform the duties of a lay- 
Sister and prepare dinner for the community. 

The people came in crowds to Notre Dame des Champs to see 
the Carmelites take possession of their monastery ; distinguished 
persons also assisted in great numbers at this touching ceremony. 
All praised God for the new Order of religious that had been estab- 
lished, returned thanks to Spain for the present she had made to 
France in giving Saints for foundresses. 

After the Spanish religious had taken possession of the priority, 
they examined the interior arrangements. They could not suffi- 
ciently admire the genius of Mme. Acarie, who had known how, 
in so small a space, to make all the proper arrangements, together 
with all that was necessary for a community. They then visited 
the new buildings which were on the other side of the church ; and 
the way in which this intelligent woman had grouped them seemed 
to them equally admirable. 

Though the 17th of October, the day on which the Carmelites 
took possession of the convent, fell on Sunday, the Office was not 
chanted in their church on that day. The Cardinal of Gondy, 
Bishop of Paris, did not, until the following day", the 18th, send 
his first chaplain to bless in his name the religious, sing Mass and 
expose the Blessed Sacrament in their church. He gave the convent 
the name of the Incarnation. Three days later Queen Marie de 
Medicis visited the convent with the princesses and other ladies 
of the court ; M. de Berulle presented M. de Bretigny to her. The 
queen showed the greatest kindness to the Spanish religious, and 
bestowed considerable alms on the house. 

To complete the work of the foundation, there was only one 
thing to be done : that was, to receive novices into the convent. 
The postulants of the little congregation of St. Genevieve, which 
Mme. Acarie had formed two years previously for Carmel, sighed 
for the moment of entering, and there was not one among them 
who did not desire to be of the number of the first received. Dur- 
ing the remainder of the month of October they were occupied 
with this important aflPair. As the Spanish religious did not un- 

56 



Arrival in France 

derstand the French language, they left the choice of the novices 
to their superiors. These last had until then had recourse to Mme. 
Acarie when there was question of admitting or refusing subjects 
who presented themselves for the little congregation. They now 
told her to choose among the postulants of this congregation those 
who would be the first to take the religious habit. It was then the 
Spanish Carmelites began to recognize this holy woman's gift in 
the discernment of spirits. It was resolved to admit at first only 
three persons ; Mile, de Fonteines-Marans was to be first of the 
three. The Spanish religious had received a favorable account of 
her vocation and her virtues. But they were obliged to postpone 
her reception, as her father was struck with a sudden illness, when 
he saw that his daughter was about to enter Carmel. Another 
was therefore taken to complete the number fixed upon. Mile. 
d'Hannivel, Madame Jourdain and Andree Levoix, of whom we 
have often spoken, were the three first novices chosen. 

Mother Anne of Jesus fixed the day of their clothing for the 
Feast of All Saints. That it might be done with greater pomp, 
the Duchess de Longueville was asked to accompany Mile. d'Han- 
nivel ; the Princess d'Estouteville, Madame Jourdan ; and Madame 
Acarie, Andree Levoix. Mile. d'Hannivel was to receive the habit 
first of the three, but Providence arranged the precedence other- 
wise, and the disposition He made was followed. When the door 
of the convent was opened, Mother Anne of Jesus, instead of taking 
Mile. d'Hannivel, went directly to Andree Levoix and led her in 
with her companions. These last, through a spirit of humility, 
asked that this arrangement should not be disturbed ; their request 
was granted, and Andree Levoix became the first novice of the 
Order. The Provincial of the Carmelite Friars of Catalonia per- 
formed the ceremony of clothing the three novices ; he had been 
invited to do so to honor him before returning to his own country. 
M. Gallemant, as first Superior, delivered the sermon. He took 
as text that part of the Scripture where Elias, after clothing Eliseus 
with his mantle, communicates to him his spirit. He spoke with 
much unction of the excellence of the religious habit, and of a 
vocation to so holy a state as that of a reformed Carmelite. Andree 
Levoix was called Andree of All Saints ; Mile. d'Hannivel, Mary of 
the Trinity, and Madame Jourdain, Louise of Jesus. 

M. de Fonteines-Marans soon recovered from the illness brought 
on by his daughter's decision. He then immediately made to God 
the sacrifice of his dear child, and took her, himself, to the convent 
on the 11th of November. That same day she received the reli- 
gious habit with Mile. Deschamps ; they gave to the first the name 
of Magdalen of St. Joseph ; and to the second, Aimee of Jesus. 
The 21st of the same month, the same ceremony was performed 
for Madame du Coudray ; and they called her Mary of the Trinity, 
although Mile. d'Hannivel bore that name. Finally on the 8th of 
the following December the habit was given to the Marchioness 
de Breaute, whom we have mentioned several times, and called 
her Mary of Jesus. 

57 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

These were the first seven novices of the Carmel of France. 
All were an honor to their Order by the practise of religious virtues ; 
and the greater number among them extended it by the founda- 
tion of several convents with which they were respectively charged. 



58 



CHAPTER IV 

DUTY TO BECOME A CHOIR SISTER 

The Blessed Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew is Raised From the Rank 
of a Lay-Sister to That of a Choir-Sister. 

It pleased the Divine Master to continue granting me in Paris 
the favors and interior consolations of the journey. 

Immediately after entering the new monastery, with the per- 
mission of the Prioress I went immediately to the kitchen to 
prepare some refection for the community. I did it with great 
pleasure; as I had always found my happiness in my position and 
in the duties of a lay-Sister. It is true, during her life, the holy 
Mother wished me to receive the black veil and proposed it to me 
several times, but I refused, saying that it would cause me much 
pain to give up my vocation. So she did not insist, because in 
all things she sought my happiness rather than her own. This 
was a great mortification to me, but my self-love made me believe 
that what I wished was more perfect, and that I had done well 
in resisting the holy Mother. 

Our Superiors soon determined to oblige me to receive the 
black veil. This caused new trouble and conflict in my soul, not 
less painful than on preceding occasions. I feared having been 
at fault in refusing to please the holy Mother by not accepting 
from her hands what was now to be forced on me by strangers. 
The Prioress opposed this change, fearing such an example would 
cause relaxation in the Order in France and Spain. I was alone, 
and, as may be imagined, harassed with great fears. The Supe- 
riors said that on the contrary this example would have no unhappy 
consequences, that I must take the veil, and that the Spanish Father 
General had instructed them to do this after our arrival. All my 
companions were opposed to the decision of the Superiors, except 
Mother Eleanor of St. Bernard, who, during the journey, was always 
of this opinion. She consoled me on this occasion and certainly 
I had need of it. Several days passed in this way ; the Mother 
Prioress remained firm in her way of considering it and the Supe- 
riors in theirs. While I was thus struggling against two opposing 
currents. Father Coton, S.J., visited our convent. Our Superiors 
had asked him to speak with me in order to persuade me to yield to 
their wishes. This Father, seeing that I was in great perplexity, 
said to me : "I, with all the Fathers in our house, will offer the 
Holy Sacrifice and make a novena, in order that God will enlighten 
us in this matter ; and you will be bound in conscience to submit to 
what we judge to be the will of God." 

During these nine days our Lord appeared to me two or three 
times and consoled me, which I needed greatly in the state I was 
in. In these apparitions, He was ravishingly beautiful; joy shone 
on His countenance, and He spoke to me with heavenly kindness. 

59 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

Once He said to me in a sweet and loving manner : "Take courage, 
it cannot be otherwise." At the close of this novena, Father Coton 
came and asked me how I felt; I replied that I was in great pain; 
I said nothing to him of the favor our Lord had granted me, nor 
the consolations I had received from our holy Mother, for she 
also had appeared to me during this time. Father Coton told me 
that I was bound in conscience to obey, and added : *'I believe that 
I can in the name of God command it in virtue of holy obedience, 
therefore, I do so ; and you will sin if you do otherwise." He made 
known to the Superiors what he had said to me; it was their one 
desire, and finally I obeyed. 



60 



CHAPTER V 

FOUNDATION OF MONASTERY OF PONTOISE 

Foundation of the Monastery of the Carmelites of Pontoise — Blessed Mother 
Anne of St. Bartholomew First Prioress of the Monastery. 

No sooner was the first convent of the Carmelites founded in 
Paris than it was necessary to found others in several cities of the 
kingdom. The good odor of the virtues of the Spanish religious 
and the novices they formed spread far and wide, and caused the 
desire everywhere for Carmelite houses ; the more so as the dis- 
orders of civil war had introduced relaxation into the greater num- 
ber of other religious Orders. Madame Acarie, who had succeeded 
so well in establishing the first Carmelite Monastery in France, 
was then obliged to undertake the foundation of others of the 
game kind. We will mention them because of this holy woman's 
part in them. 

It was a few days after the clothing of the first three novices, 
that they conceived the design of undertaking a new foundation. 
They found the priory, where they lived while waiting for the 
convent to be made habitable, was too small to accomodate all the 
subjects who were to be received, and the postulants who pre- 
sented themselves desired ardently to receive the religious 
habit. Consequently, Blessed Mary of the Incarnation, then Mme. 
Acarie, and Mother Anne of Jesus made the proposal of a new 
foundation to the Superiors, and their idea was immediately 
accepted. To put it into execution, the Marquis of Breaute offered 
the sum of 10,000 crowns, and M. Duval his house in Pontoise. 
This house was then occupied by a community of young girls under 
the guidance of M. Gallemant, and several of them felt called to 
the life of Carmel. Then, too, Madame Acarie, who knew Pontoise, 
loved that city, because piety reigned there. 

They charged this holy woman to inspect the house offered by 
M. Duval, and at the same time examine the young ladies of M. 
Gallemant's community who entertained the desire of becoming 
Carmelites. 

M. d'Alincourt, a brother-in-law of the Marquis of Breaute and 
Governor of Pontoise, proposed to the inhabitants of the city the 
foundation contemplated, and they consented to it; the Cardinal 
of Bourbon, Archbishop of Rouen, also gave his consent to the 
foundation. In the meantime M. de Marillac took the necessary 
steps to obtain the letters patent from the king. 

On the 10th of January, 1605, workmen were sent to the house 
destined for the Carmelites, and on the 25th of the same month 
it was ready for the reception of the religious. It was Blessed 
Mary of the Incarnation, who, on her return to Paris, arranged 
all the changes necessary in the building, and although she only 
slept one night in Pontoise, and was then principally occupied with 

61 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

the examination of the young ladies who asked admission to Car- 
mel, the condition of the place was so fixed in her mind, that she 
directed the changes in the best possible manner. 

Sister Anne of St. Bartholomew, to whom they had just given 
the black veil, was named Prioress of the new monastery; Mother 
Isabel of the Angels, Sub-prioress; and Sister Beatrice of the 
Conception, Mistress of Novices. Mother Anne of Jesus, who 
governed the first convent, wished to accompany to Pontoise the 
three Spanish Carmelites sent there, and she took with her two 
of the first novices of the Order, Sister Louise of Jesus and Sister 
Aimee of Jesus. 

They left Paris the 14th of January, 1605. Madame Acarie 
and her three daughters, M. de BeruUe's mother, and several other 
ladies were in the party. Messrs. Gallemant, Duval and de Berulle 
joined it also, together with M. de Bretigny and M. Gauthier. 
The Duchess of Longueville and the Princess d'Estouteville ac- 
companied the colony to St. Denis, as they were obliged to sleep 
there if they would communicate the following day on the tomb 
of the Apostle of the Capital. 

On the 15th, after Mass, they set out for Pontoise. Before 
reaching it they stopped for several hours at Maubuisson, a cele- 
brated Abbey of Bernardines, founded by the Mother of St. Louis 
in 1241. The religious of this Abbey received the Spanish Car- 
melites with reverence and made them presents. 

The Provosts of Pontoise had come to Maubuisson in order to 
accompany the Carmelites to the house prepared for them. The 
Vicar General of Rouen awaited them there to install them, and 
everyone in the city, who had hastened to this ceremony, con- 
gratulated themselves on possessing persons so holy. After having 
taken possession of their monastery, the religious went to the 
refectory ; and because of the respect she bore them, Madame Acarie 
wished to serve the table, notwithstanding all their endeavors to 
prevent it. 

The Blessed Sacrament was not exposed in the church until the 
following day, which was Sunday, and the new convent was given 
the name of St. Joseph. The afternoon of that same day, three 
religious of Maubuisson, who had been edified by the sanctity 
which shone from the countenances of the Spanish Carmelites, 
begged to be admitted to the community. M. Duval was about 
to reply that it was contrary to the Constitutions of the Order to 
receive them, but Madame Acarie advised him not to give so prompt 
a reply in the negative. The thought of entering the Order of 
St. Teresa, she told him, would be very useful to these religious. 
Occupied with this intention, they will become very regular; 
whereas, if they are refused immediately, they will continue their 
ordinary way of life. This counsel was approved of and they 
followed it. 

On Monday Mother Anne of Jesus gave the religious habit to 
four young ladies of M. Gallemant's community ; the first received 
was called Agnes of Jesus ; later she became Sub-Prioress, and took 

62 



Foundation of Monastery of Pontoise 

great care of Blessed Mary of the Incarnation (Madame Acarie) 
in her last illness. After the ceremony, Mother Anne of Jesus, 
in order to excite the fervor of the novices just received, spoke 
these remarkable w^ords : "You have entered an Order so holy 
and perfect, that by keeping its rules and constitutions faithfully, 
one v^ill go directly from her deathbed to her home in heaven." 

The first night these novices passed in the house they noticed 
a miraculous odor, which the Spanish Carmelites told them to call 
the perfume of St. Teresa. 

On Tuesday they started on their return trip to Paris. They 
left Sister Louise of Jesus, w^ho had to remain in the new mon- 
astery, at Pontoise. M. de Berulle remained there several days, 
to finish his advice to the community ; and M. de Bretigny remained 
there seven or eight months in order to hear the confessions of 
the Spanish religious. On returning to Paris, Mother Anne of 
Jesus was in admiration of the way in which Madame Acarie had 
established the Order in France; and Madame Acarie admired the 
way in which Mother Anne of Jesus governed. The Carmelite 
said : "How could one woman have sufficient influence in France, 
Rome and Spain to make so difficult a foundation? How has she 
been able to find all the money used in it?" The Blessed one 
said in her turn: "How has a Spanish religious, who does not 
understand French, been able to acquire so much authority over 
persons of so different a language and customs? How has she 
been able to make them all one heart and one soul?" 

The manuscript Annals of the Carmelites of Pontoise recount 
a very interesting anecdote, which occurred two years after the 
foundation of this monastery, that is to say, when they commenced 
building the new convent to which these religious were transferred 
in 1610, and where they have remained until the present day. 
This is the anecdote of which I have spoken. 

The house given by M. Duval was small and in a poor situa- 
tion; the number of subjects who presented themselves for ad- 
mission increased every day. In 1607, therefore, they purchased 
a more spacious and convenient place. "But," said M. de Marillac, 
"though means for commencing the building were wanting, we 
did not trouble ourselves about that, Madame Acarie and I. This 
holy woman having expressed to me a great desire that the intended 
building should be commenced, I asked her if she thought God 
wished workmen should immediately undertake the work. She 
kept silence, and it seemed to me her wish was the result of some 
revelation made to her by the Holy Spirit, or some interior in- 
spiration He had excited. I asked her a second time the same 
question, as I knew she was accustomed to wait until our Lord 
urged others to do something, rather than to urge it herself. She 
replied to me that God willed it. 'Do not speak any more of it,' 
I said, T will take charge of this affair.' " The workmen were im- 
mediately put to work ; the building was finished in a few years ; 
and, to the great astonishment of everyone, funds were never 
wanting. (Life of Blessed Mary of the Incarnation, by Boucher, 
Book III.) 

6Z 



CHAPTER VI 

HONORS SHOWN THE CARMELITES 

Honors Shown Blessed Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew and Her Com- 
panions by the Inhabitants of Pontoise — Assistance Given by Our Lord 
to His Servant in Governing This Monastery and Guiding Her 
Daughters. 

The magistrates came to receive us half a mile outside the 
city. All the people arranged in procession welcomed us with 
demonstrations of most lively faith. The gathering was so great, 
and our entrance made with such solemnity, that we were unable 
to cross the threshold of our home until evening. There was 
reason to praise God in witnessing the devotion with which the 
inhabitants of Pontoise received this new foundation, and even 
now they retain the same sentiments. Our Lord has granted and 
ceases not to grant many favors to this city, owing to the prayers 
of the Sisters. Witnessing all this, I experienced intense sorrow 
only at the thought that I was to be head of the monastery. I 
was like one condemned to death, and so mortified that it seemed 
to me the ofBce of Prioress, in my case, was a disgrace, and that 
never in any other circumstances had I been weighed down body 
and soul by such ignominy. My whole being seemed but a worm 
of the earth ; and that in truth is what I am. But I never saw 
it in so clear a light as on that occasion. 

Being one day before the Blessed Sacrament, I begged our 
Lord that He, Himself, would be watchful for His glory, and that 
He would assist me, as I felt entirely alone. He said to me : *T 
am here ; I consider you as the light of my eyes." 

Another day, I went to beg Him to be pleased to teach me 
what I should do, remembering I had no other Master. I was 
obliged to hold Chapter, and was greatly troubled on that account ; 
this anxiety left me without strength and, as it were, unnerved at 
the thought of giving the necessary reproofs and instructions. 
Towards the end of Mass, which I heard in the convent, our Lord 
said to me : "Look at the Rule : it is there you will find the strength 
you need." With that I took courage and I went to hold Chapter. 
I spoke to the Sisters those things which God put in my mind to 
guide them in the beginning of their religious life. As regarded 
myself, I told them the truth, that notwithstanding my sincere 
desire to serve them, I considered myself very incapable ; but that 
I trusted in God, in their virtue, and the desire they had so long 
entertained to see the Order of our holy Mother established in 
France; that our Lord would aid and satisfy them, in spite of the 
weakness of the instrument which He used. These words, and 
all that I said, were understood by the Sisters as if I had spoken 
their language, and as if they knew mine. When Chapter was 
over, I saw they were all weeping, and said to them : ''No doubt 

64 



Honors Shown the CarmeUtes 

you are grieved because you do not understand my language." 
They replied : "We have understood all that you said to us with- 
out the exception of one word, and this has caused us so great 
joy, that we weep with happiness." 

These exercises of the religious life had just been established 
in our monastery at Pontoise, when they wrote me from Spain 
that God had called one of the religious to Himself, and that she 
had died like a Saint. I envied her, considering the great merit she 
must have acquired by the many labors she had borne during her 
life. Our Lord replied to me : "The better part is not for those 
persons who have the most active duties, but for those who die 
to themselves and to all their passions and inclinations." 

Each time our Lord deigned to speak to me, although it passed so 
quickly, I received a great light, which made me understand more 
and more the goodness of God, and I felt interiorly a more intense 
desire to be faithful to Him. These words and visions of our Lord al- 
ways reanimated my courage. But I had a great fear of my incapa- 
bility, and dreaded becoming unfaithful to God. Since my arrival in 
this new monastery at Pontoise, I felt mortified beyond expression. 
It seemed to me that the Office of Prioress was for me a disgrace. 
I knew nothing regarding leading in the Choir. Every day I was 
with the novices and did not know their language. She who came 
as Sub-Prioress, Mother Isabel of St. Paul, taken from the house 
at Burgos, had chills and fever. I was the most worried woman 
in the world — so crushed it seemed nothing could humble me 
more, and that there was no sort of contempt comparable to seeing 
myself in this position, and so entirely incapable. I no longer knew 
myself, for usually my soul was full of courage. Often even our 
Lord gave me fortitude beyond that of woman, and now I had not 
sufficient to defend m3'^self from a mouse, had it attacked me. It 
seemed to me I had never endured such pain, except at the death 
of our holy Mother. While in this state I felt her death intensely ; 
I suffered at the thought of having survived her and being con- 
demned to remain in this world without such a Mother and Mis- 
tress, without this living mirror of all the virtues which had been 
constantly before my eyes. Besides that, and not speaking of the 
love I bore her, I saw, aided by a light from God, Jesus Christ 
dwelling in her soul. I saw Him with, great clearness and this 
almost constantly. From this privilege I derived astonishing 
strength, for being obliged to pass days and nights without finding 
any convenient time for prayer, and being obliged to take care of 
our Saint who had very little health and many occupations, I felt 
that my soul was always recollected in prayer ; as to my body, it 
was as light as if it had not been. I did not feel its natural weight, 
and thought of nothing but performing what was commanded me. 



65 



CHAPTER VII 



METHOD OF PRAYER 



Her Manner of Prayer During Her Stay in the Monastery of Pontoise — 
Graces and Lights She Received From Our Lord — Her Return to Paris. 

The kind of prayer I practised at that time, on certain days, 
was a consciousness accompanied by deep reverence, of a light 
which was in my soul. All my faculties were so penetrated by 
it that they seemed to have no existence but that which they 
received from this light. It was not a vision of Jesus Christ as 
I saw Him usually, nor any other presence ; but it was as if the 
Most Holy Trinity Itself dwelt in me ; and though my soul per- 
ceived nothing, I felt for the Adorable Trinity the same reverence 
as if I saw It present. 

On other days my soul was like a silkworm. It is treated with 
the greatest care by those who raise it. They feed it on tender 
leaves ; having reached maturity it commences to spin with its 
mouth a thread of very delicate silk and makes its cocoon. It 
finds so much pleasure and comfort in this, it does not realize it 
will ever cease to exist; finally its strength being exhausted, it 
remains fastened up in its cocoon and dies there. I saw, or rather 
was shown, something sirriilar in my soul. With the like sweet- 
ness and the same silence the soul goes on spinning silk and giving 
to God what she has received from Him. After the example of the 
little silkworm, she shuts herself within herself as in a tomb, 
which separates her from creatures, and with tender love, which 
she draws unceasingly from the depths of her heart, she longs to 
leave this life. Death is the true life of such a soul, and she would 
wish to have a thousand lives to sacrifice for God and thus merit 
greater favors from Him. Everything then disquiets and wearies 
her; nothing can satisfy her except to give her life for the Well- 
Beloved. 

Once, at Pontoise, I complained to our Lord that I was entirely 
unfit for the office with which I was charged. I represented to 
Him my poverty, telling Him I was nothing more than a straw. 
And the Divine Master replied : 'Tt is with straws I light the fire." 

On another occasion, the Saturday after the Feast of the Ex- 
altation of the Cross, while we were reciting the Hours, I felt 
within my soul a great desire to please God, if I could, in some 
way. But I realized that I was only a little worm of the earth, 
and neither knew nor could do anything for God or man. How- 
ever, I perceived that there burned in my heart an intense desire 
to perform all my works in such a way as would win glory for 
God and my holy Mother Teresa of Jesus ; I wished no other 
recompense for my labors. I experienced great tenderness of love, 
and deep recollection took possession of my soul. Jesus Christ 

66 



Method of Prayer 

was close to me and He said: "This is how I wish you to be, 
without power or knowledge, in order that I may do with you as 
I will; for the wise of this world with their human prudence do 
not listen to Me ; they think they know everything." 

I enjoyed the greatest consolation in this convent at Pontoise. 
1 saw, with pleasure, that the young girls under my guidance ob- 
served with perfect fidelity the rules and constitutions. But I was 
not slow to notice that the Superiors had formed the design to 
recall me to Paris to place me at the head of the convent. This 
caused me great pain, because I would be in the midst of a very 
large city, and a city where the Court resided. One day while in a 
sort of interior agony, and confused at not finding myself entirely 
resigned to go to Paris, I became deeply recollected ; and as it ap- 
peared clear to me that God wished this of me, I feared to excuse 
myself. Therefore, I made again the firm resolution to obey in all 
things the good pleasure of our Lord, and I said to him : "Do with 
me, Lord, as Thou wilt ; I see clearly that I am not capable of this 
charge : even the thought fills me with great fear ; besides it is a 
great disgrace for me to meet with honor. Why, my Lord, dost 
Thou wish to submit me to this trial ?" At the same time my Ador- 
able Master appeared to me in His humanity and His glory ; there 
was so brilliant a light from the heavens where He was, even to me, 
that it seemed He was quite close to me ; and He said to me : "It 
is in this way they should walk who do the works of God, for so 
I walked on earth, afflicted in the midst of honor and dishonor." 
At these words I experienced joy, consolation and inexpressible 
love ; I was lost in astonishment and gained courage to go to Paris. 

At this time, and before passing an entire year at Pontoise, 
enjoying, as I have already said, great consolations, and considering 
myself blessed in living with such holy souls, I received a new favor 
from the Divine Master. One day, when in the refectory, I entered 
for some moments into a supernatural recollection, and during this 
short space of time our Lord appeared to me in this manner : He 
was in heaven, in glory ; between Him and myself there was a very 
great distance ; it was not like other visions. He showed me that 
soon the Superiors would take me to Paris, that I must be prepared 
for this; that I would endure greater labors and contempt than I 
had already passed through. It was not without some sorrow that 
I heard this prediction ; for one reason that I was weak, and an- 
other because our Lord treated me in the monastery of Pontoise 
as if I were in heaven; He showered favors on me; it seemed as if 
He was always near me for every need ; He spoke to me, taught me 
what I must do, as a father teaches his children. I must acknowl- 
edge, also, it cost me much to separate from these souls who seemed 
like angels. The Divine Master did not allow them to touch the 
earth ; He bore them, so to speak, in His arms, so great was the 
consolation and spiritual joy He bestowed on them. Then, too, 
the people of Pontoise were so good and such true Christians. Our 
intimacy was so great, one would have thought I had been born 
in their midst. No sooner did they learn in the city that it was nec- 

67 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

essary to remove me from the monastery, than the men would have 
taken up arms to prevent it. Therefore, it was necessary that I 
should leave at midnight, and oblige the religious in the name of 
obedience to keep the secret. One of the Superiors came to me, 
bringing with him one of my nephews who was studying at Paris ; 
and to prevent my being recognized they took off my mantle and 
placed my nephew's cloak on my shoulders and his hat on my 
head. In this way we left the city, for at Pontoise the gates of 
the city are not closed at night. The religious did not learn of 
my departure until the morning, when she who replaced me went 
with them to chant at Mass. Then there was such a demonstra- 
tion of sobbing and tears that it soon became known in the city 
that I had gone. All the citizens, particularly those who had daugh- 
ters in the community, seeing their grief, were filled with sorrow 
at my departure. 



68 



CHAPTER VIII 

GOVERNS CONVENT AT PARIS 

The Blessed Mother Arrives at Paris From Pontoise and Governs the First 
Convent as Prioress — Assistance Given Her by Isabel of the Angels — 
Departure of This Sister on the Foundation of Amiens — Fervor of the 
Novices at Paris — Happy Death of Angelique of the Trinity, Daughter 
of the Marshal de Brissac. 

On my arrival at Paris, I received the heartiest welcome from 
all the novices. There v^^as then in the convent no other pro- 
fessed nun but Eleanor of St. Bernard, to whom I owed much on 
this occasion as well as on many others. But our novices were 
very numerous; they were put under my direction, and notwith- 
standing my charge of Prioress, I was commanded to take care of 
them. Mother Anne of Jesus and her two companions had gone 
to make a foundation in Burgundy. One day while recommending 
them to God, He made me understand that Mother Isabel of the 
Angels was suited for France. I told M. de Berulle; and the re- 
sult proved the truth of my words, for this Mother acquitted her- 
self of her Office in a most perfect and religious manner. They 
brought her from Dijon to Paris. She remained three months with 
us. During the time we were permitted to be together, we both 
experienced a renewal of courage and very great consolation. This 
Mother was of great assistance to me in the Choir. She succeeded 
in everything, because she had learned the method of leading and 
appeared full of sweetness. This is required for souls in France, 
because they are docile and inclined to virtue. Therefore, one 
succeeds better by gentleness with them than by any other way, 
and, provided it is done in a kind manner, one can make known to 
them all their faults; they will take it in good part. Certainly, 
for my part, I consider this method best and conformed to the 
character of our Lord Jesus Christ; for if we stop to consider we 
will see that He lived as a brother and a companion with His dis- 
ciples. Just now many things occur to my mind to say; but I 
will refrain, fearing to do it poorly and to show little humility 
by entering on this subject. I have neither the capacity nor humility 
requisite. 

Mother Isabel of the Angels took from here for the foundation 
of Amiens three professed religious, excellent subjects, and two 
novices. They arrived at Amiens on the eve of Pentecost ; and, the 
following day, the Blessed Sacrament was placed in the Oratory of 
their monastery, to the great satisfaction of the entire city, which 
made a great demonstration of devotion on this occasion. The 
Bishop, so they wrote, had the head of St. John the Baptist car- 
ried in procession, and celebrated a Pontifical Mass. I was much 
consoled on hearing the news at Paris, and to know that all was 

69 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

going on well. I must add that I was asked to be sent on this 
foundation, but it was not then possible. 

I will speak now of our novices, who had asked me of the 
Superiors as their Mistress. I could not be more pleased with 
them, and they were also with me. I had certainly great reason 
to be so at the sight of such souls and the graces with which God 
favored them ; He was lavish in their regard, but they were souls 
capable of great virtue. Though they were so recollected and so 
faithful to all the observances, I established as a rule that, before 
being admitted to profession, they should pass the fifteen days 
preceding in spiritual exercises and such perfect retirement as not 
to speak to anyone or see anyone. I acted thus because profession 
is an act which requires an exalted disposition ; and I saw that 
our Lord had given it to them. It was in this way I caused the 
profession to be made by twenty-eight religious in Paris. 

In order that it may be seen how advantageous it is to serve 
the Lord, I wish to narrate here the happy death of a Carmelite 
religious named Angelique, in this house at Paris, a daughter of 
M. de Brissac. 

One night while I was sleeping, as well as I could judge, I saw 
in my cell, with the eyes of the spirit, a bright light ; I was fright- 
ened, thinking God was calling me ; I was not prepared ; I had 
no confessor, and it was necessary I should have one at that mo- 
ment. While thus troubled I learned by a supernatural light 
that it was Sister Angelique whom God called to Himself. He 
sent her a very painful malady, which caused her great suffering. 
She showed admirable patience and God in return gave her great 
consolation and special light. For until her last moment, she 
spoke to us with great edification, and it was consoling to hear 
her. She communicated several times during the short time of 
her illness. And a few hours before death, she received our Lord 
in great transports of joy. She again asked pardon of the com- 
munity, as she had already done before receiving Extreme Unction. 
She bade farewell to all, not as one who is about to die, but as 
if she were departing for another monastery, saying, "Adieu !" 
and she added : "Give me the Blessed Virgin." She became quiet, 
smiling sweetly; not one of us believed she was dead, for she had 
given no sign to indicate it. She was a most pure soul, and it 
was very evident she had preserved her baptismal innocence. 



70 



CHAPTER IX 



HER ZEAL FOR SOULS 



Favor She Received in Paris, the Eve of the Feast of St. Denis, the 
Areopagite — Her Zeal for the Salvation of Souls From the Time She 
Commenced Mental Prayer, Above All Since She Had Lived in the 
Company of St. Teresa — An Occasion on Which This Zeal Increased 
in Her Soul at Paris. 

On the eve of the Feast of St. Denis, the Areopagite, for whom 
I had great devotion, while in prayer, our Lord granted me the 
favor to visit my soul and transform it into His by a wonderful 
union. Though this visit lasted but a short time, its effects were 
very great. I became so spiritual in soul and body, that it seemed 
I no longer performed any natural action, or made the least natural 
movement. The following day, the Feast of St. Denis, our Lord 
granted me the same favor after Holy Communion. Although this 
visit was short, as I have already said, the fruits which I experienced 
and the dispositions in which it placed my soul, lasted more than 
fifteen days. Although I saw nothing, I felt within myself, in the 
depths of my soul, the Sovereign Majesty, as if I saw the Most 
Holy Trinity. I saw nothing, but the realization I had of His 
presence within me was more striking than if I had seen Him. 
During these days I had, indeed, some cause for trouble, but my 
mind did not allow one distracting thought to enter and lost none 
of its simplicity; I make use of this expression, because the vision 
I had of God was simple, quiet and undisturbed. 

After these days had passed, it was no longer so. It is true 
this grace was not entirely taken from me, but it was not granted 
me in such perfection as I have just described. The fruit it con- 
tinued to produce in me was greater courage of soul, more intense 
fervor, a more ardent desire to see God and to employ myself in 
His service according to His good pleasure. In this state there is 
greater activity and less of that simple looking towards God. The 
movements being, in all cases, more energetic, greater care is 
required in order not to commit faults, whereas one is preserved 
from them when made firm by the power of the prayer spoken of, 
that is to say, the simple looking towards God. The difference 
between these two states is easy to be understood. The soul who 
enjoys this simple sight of God resembles a person who is satiated 
and has an abundance of all the dishes possible to desire, without 
even the trouble of seeking them or even sitting down to the table. 
The soul which no longer has this simple sight of God is like a 
hungry man, who desires dishes according to his taste, but must 
procure them by labor, and if he must be solicitous in order to 
procure them, he must also be the same in order to preserve them. 
The soul must act in the same manner regarding the virtues, the 
knowledge of God and self : this exercise is so important, that who- 

71 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

ever does not seriously enter into it will always be poor in soul. 
The knowledge of truth gives repose to the heart, and causes a 
soul to be resigned in great and little things to all God asks of her. 

As soon as I commenced a life of prayer, our Lord gave me 
an ardent desire for the salvation of souls ; this desire was greater 
at certain times than at others. But, since having the happiness 
of knowing my Holy Mother Teresa, our Lord has enkindled in 
me a much more intense desire for the salvation of souls, and par- 
ticularly for the conversion of heretics. It was the holy Mother 
who communicated to me this disposition, and she rejoiced greatly 
when she saw this fire of zeal was consuming my soul. 

However, on the occasion of the clothing of Sister Clare of the 
Blessed Sacrament, God increased this grace in my soul, and gave 
it to me in a more excellent way. The desire for the salvation of 
souls and the conversion of heretics was like a fire of love within 
me, from which arose a powerful, unconquerable flame, which, so 
to speak, held sway over all and drew all things to itself. 

Adversity is powerless against this charity ; rather it is van- 
quished and submissive and serves only to strengthen the spirit, 
as wood thrown on the fire prevents it from being extinguished; 
so adversity keeps this divine fire burning in the soul, and causes 
it to rise more rapidly towards Him who is its wished-for end. 
In this thirst for souls one fears neither perils nor any kind of 
labor: they are rather sought after, because the pain one endures 
in this kind of prayer causes greater suffering than labor itself. 

Here I wish to give counsel to the timid, that when they find 
themselves in this state, they may remain faithful to God, and may 
not easily give way to any anxiety which would turn them from 
laboring for the good of souls. For if they truly compassionate 
their sad condition, they would give up every satisfaction in order 
to fly to their assistance. Truly it is cause for grief to see that 
those who are capable of doing good have not the desire, while 
ignorant women without any talent, unworthy and incapable of 
any good, like myself, have the courage of strong men. I say this 
that God may be praised, because several poor Discalced Car- 
melites, contrary to the wish and advice of all, in spite of the fears 
and forebodings with which it was sought to deter them, bravely 
offered themselves for all that could befall them. As far as I am 
concerned, I can say that I am not sorry, and since leaving Spain 
I have never for one moment regretted devoting myself to this 
labor for the love of God ; on the contrary I have always felt 
strengthened and consoled for having undertaken this journey. 
Although I came alone from my convent, having poor health, and 
at an age when I could hope for no improvement, I found all the 
consolations I could have desired if I had sought for them, because 
God has shown Himself unceasingly to be my true Father, never 
leaving my soul in any need or trouble without suddenly appearing 
beside me to come to my aid ; may He be forever blessed ! 



72 



CHAPTER X 

COMMENTARY 

FOUNDATION OF CONVENT AT TOURS 

"To-day is the Feast of St. Martin, for whom I have great devotion, 
because during this octave I have often received great graces from our 
Lord: I do not know why." — (Life of St. Teresa, by Ribera, Book IV, 
Chap. XIII.) 

In these words St. Teresa gives us the origin of the Carmel at 
Tours. Her devotion for St. Martin and his predilection for her; 
this is, indeed, for those who study the origin of things by the 
torch of faith, the real cause of the foundation of this monastery. 

As for the devotion of the virgin of Avila to St. Martin, noth- 
ing can be so easily explained: the mutual sympathy and resem- 
blance of these two great souls should be the cause of and give 
intensity to it. Teresa, who before founding her Order had been 
wounded in the heart by the dart of a seraph, and who, after re- 
ceiving this first wound, had seen the same seraph at different 
times plunge the dart into her heart, leaving her filled with seraphic 
love for Jesus Christ, how could she but feel attracted towards 
this blessed Pontiff, whose heart, like that of St. Paul, was over- 
flowing with love for Jesus Christ? She who from the most ten- 
der age had sighed after martyrdom, how could she but love this 
holy Pontiff, who, although his head did not fall under the sword 
of the persecutor, had not, however, lost the palm of martyrdom? 
She, who had been consumed with the fire of apostolic zeal, how 
could she but feel predilection for this Bishop, one of the most 
apostolic who had illuminated the Church of God since the time 
of the Apostles? In proportion as she studied him, her devotion 
increased. Seeking only for the salvation of souls, and having no 
other end but this in the reforming of Carmel, she was as in an 
ecstasy when contemplating St. Martin laboring for the conquest 
of souls. With Hilary of Poitiers, his holy master, he planted the 
faith among the Gauls, and brought to Jesus Christ innumerable 
legions of faithful souls. It was this Pontiff, God's chosen one, 
to whom, after the Apostles, our Lord communicated such great 
grace that he merited the wonderful honor of restoring to life, 
through the power of the Triune God, three dead persons who had 
been laid in the tomb. During all his life as a Bishop, miracles 
sprang from his footsteps. Wherever he was, wherever he might 
go, he held the gifts of heaven in his hand ; he distributed them as 
he pleased, enlightening souls, adorning them with the grace of 
Christ, curing bodies, delivering them from the chains of the devil 
and from sickness. 

At the sight of Martin causing the Trinity to be adored, Christ 
to be known, enkindling His love in souls, extending the boun- 

7Z 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

daries of the Church, giving it new peoples, Teresa, filled with joy, 
fell into an ecstasy. And when the life of this Apostle, consumed 
with love for Christ and giving itself for Him, drew to a close, 
Teresa was not astonished that all the heavens had been moved, 
and trembled with joy, seeing it about to take its flight. The soul 
of the seraphic virgin, identifying itself with the sentiments of the 
Church, exclaimed with her : "O blessed apostle of Christ, at thy 
passing from earth to heaven, the saints welcomed thee with songs 
of joy, the choirs of angels saluted thee with transport, the army 
of all the celestial virtues went before thee singing hymns of 
triumph : the Church is strengthened by thy sanctity in heaven. 
Bishops are glorified by this revelation from God." 

It is St. Michael who finally takes him under his care, and 
with his angels leads him to the throne of God, and when the 
Holy Trinity crowns him, when Christ takes him in His arms and 
presses him to His heart and conducts him to His throne ;' when, 
in a word, this soul has taken possession of paradise, Teresa's 
soul is carried away by the triumph of the Blessed Martin ; she 
rejoices with the angels, she is ravished with the archangels, she 
cries out with the choirs of Saints and with all the virgins this 
invitation : "Remain with us through all eternity." 

The devotion of St. Teresa was enkindled by contemplating 
the glory with which God adorned the tomb of St. Martin. His 
relics brought blessing all over the world. The tomb which en- 
closed them was a beacon of grace for humanity; a haven of rest 
for all Catholicity. The Thaumaturgus, though his soul was in 
heaven, still lived on earth by the power of his prodigies. From 
all countries of the world eyes were turned towards the tomb of 
St. Martin, and because of him Touraine had become, as it were, 
the birthplace of miracles. Kings, Pontiffs, doctors, warriors, 
Christians of all ranks, of all classes, hastened to seek at the tomb 
of St. Martin the cure of their souls and bodies. Having come 
from all parts of the world, the pilgrims, cured in soul and body, 
made known everywhere the glory and power of their deliverer. 
There is no country where the Church is known that does not 
honor the name of Martin, or where this name, when called upon, 
does not work miracles. Thus the miraculous power of this 
saint radiates from his tomb to the extremities of the earth. This 
is what Teresa contemplated with the eye of faith, and what 
gave the highest impulse to her devotion for the holy Bishop of 
Tours. 

And he, this immortal Pontiflf, whom the Church calls by the 
sublime title. Pearl of Bishops, from the heights of heaven sees in 
Teresa, founding and extending her reform, the pearl of Apostolic 
Virgins. At the sight of the seraphic love which consumed 
her heart, and the admirable mission she filled in God's 
Church, he looked upon her with astonished delight, and 
was drawn to her with an attraction of predilection. The 
prayers Teresa addressed him with such lively faith com- 
pletely won his heart. Her prayer was heard ; from this time he 

74 



Foundation of Convent at Tours 

stood as her intercessor before the adorable Trinity and Jesus 
Christ unceasingly begging- them to keep in their care and bless 
with gifts this magnanimous and seraphic Virgin, who lived only 
for their glory. And this is the cause, though then unknown to 
Teresa, of the wonderful graces she received in the octave of the 
feast of the glorious St. Martin. God even chose this octave to grant 
Teresa the greatest favor of her life. Let us listen to her own 
words: "During the second year, when Prioress of the Incarna- 
tion at Avila, during the octave of St. Martin, at the moment when 
Father John of the Cross had just given me communion, our Lord 
appeared to me in the most hidden depths of my soul, gave me 
His right hand and said to me: 'Look at this nail; it is the mark 
and token that from this day you shall be My spouse; until now 
you have not deserved it: henceforth you shall guard My honor, 
seeing in Me not only your Creator, your King and your God, but 
above all, seeing in Me your true Spouse : from this moment My 
honor is yours and your honor Mine.' " 

But the prayer of the holy Bishop of Tours was not limited to 
recommending the seraphic reformer of Carmel to God. Continu- 
ing in heaven the pastoral solicitude which on earth he felt for 
the people committed to his zeal, he asked of the Holy Trinity and 
of Jesus Christ a small band of these apostolic virgins to dwell 
near his tomb, and from this center to spread the sacred fire all 
through Touraine. A request so much for God's glory is sure to 
be heard. And when Teresa entered into her glory she saw at the 
same time all the graces she owed St. Martin and the foundation 
of the Carmel of Tours predestined in the designs of God. 

The time for the foundation having arrived, God, who deter- 
mines the glory of His Saints in proportion to what He has re- 
ceived from them, wished to treat His servant and His friend, St. 
Martin, with rare privilege and munificence. For this reason, it 
was His pleasure to gather together near the tomb of this dear 
friend, so justly called the 'Tearl among Bishops," the most 
precious pearls of the reformed Carmel. 

It was Blessed Mary of the Incarnation, the pearl and found- 
ress of Carmel in France, and the first Carmelite after St. Teresa 
placed in the ranks of the Blessed, who came to lay the founda- 
tions of this monastery. As she had prepared the first convent in 
Paris, and arranged it for the reception of the six Carmelites from 
Spain, in the same manner she prepared the convent at Tours and 
arranged it to receive the little colony sent from Paris. 

The one who, as Prioress, was to govern this monastery, was 
also a pearl, whose value was known to God alone. It was Anne 
of St. Bartholomew, the inseparable companion of St. Teresa, the 
one of her daughters whom the Saint perhaps loved most tenderly on 
earth, and in whose arms she wished to repose during that mem- 
orable ecstasy of fourteen hours which preceded for her the clear 
vision of God. 

But Saint Teresa was not content with sending to St. Martin 
the elite among her daughters ; she, herself, took part in the foun- 

75 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

dation. Eager to show the holy Bishop that sne remembered the 
signal graces formerly received through his intercession, she 
neglected nothing that this Carmel, the fruit of his prayers, should 
be worthy of him and worthy of her. She appeared to her dear 
Tours. She encouraged her and promised to assist her. In the 
monastery she showed herself to her in several apparitions, giving 
Anne of St. Bartholomew while she was journeying from Paris to 
her proof of maternal love. She directed her, and established with 
her all the observances. Owing to the frequent visits, and to the 
tender marks of affection of the seraphic Mother, Anne of St. 
Bartholomew felt as if she were still at Avila or in some other 
convent in Spain with the holy foundress. Soon we will hear her, 
herself, making a picture in words of the happiness she experienced 
in the Carmel of Tours. 

In the year 1615, a new pearl came to shed its lustre in the Car- 
mel of the glorious St. Martin. It was the Venerable Mother Mag- 
dalen of St. Joseph, the first French Prioress of the Carmel at 
Paris, whose virtues the Church later on, by solemn decree, de- 
clared heroic. For eight months this great light shone in the 
Carmel of Tours ; she strengthened there the traditions of sanctity 
that Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew had established. 

Still another pearl shed its soft bright light in this privileged 
Carmel. It was Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament, the second 
daughter of Blessed Mary of the Incarnation. One fact alone will 
make known the whole life of this virgin; her holy Mother de- 
clared that God had made known to her that her daughter Mar- 
garet would be higher than herself in the glory of heaven. 

For six years Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament lived in the 
Carmel of Tours, the first three years as Sub-Prioress, and the 
last three as Prioress. It was two years after the return of Vener- 
able Mother Magdalen of St. Joseph to Paris, that she undertook 
the government of the convent. 

The founder of the monastery is worthy of taking rank with 
the heroic virgins who lived in it. He was a noble gentleman of 
Touraine, M. de Fonteines-Marans, one of those manly Christians, 
full of primitive faith, such as St. Martin formed. He had the 
happiness of being a relative of Blessed Mary of the Incarnation, 
and was an honor to this tie of relationship. He had already, re- 
pressing the revolt of nature which it had cost him, seen two of 
his daughters enter the Carmel at Paris, and the emotions of his 
paternal heart, crowned by faith, only increased the value of the 
sacrifice. The older of these two daughters was Magdalen of St. 
Joseph, whose virtues, as we have already said, have been declared 
heroic by the Church. His third daughter firmly determined to 
belong to St. Teresa, but could not, as owing to her health she could 
not bear the austerities of the rule. This saintly father, then, influ- 
enced and advised by his holy relative, Mme. Acarie, founded a 
monastery at Tours, where his daughter would have the right to 
live as benefactress. Happy father, to give three daughters to St. 
Teresa, three spouses to Jesus Christ, and who found in them 

76 



Foundation of Convent at Tours 

three angels who prayed unceasingly for him ! By this monastery 
which he gave to Touraine, he became one of the most generous 
benefactors of his country. He will have a share in all the spiritual 
favors there until the end of the world. How many souls will be 
saved century after century by the Carmelites of this monastery ! 
He will be forever filled with astonishment at the sight of the 
fruitfulness of his work. And if the separation from his three 
daughters wounded his fatherly heart, with what unceasing joy he 
will be ravished, seeing the glory with which Jesus Christ has 
crowned them ! 

Everything in the birth of this monastery foreshadowed the 
brightest future. But, to crown its joy, the divine Master was 
pleased on the very day of the foundation, to change hope to cer- 
tainty. He promised Blessed Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew 
to assist in a particular manner, until the end of time, all those 
who would enter this monastery, the erection of which was granted 
to the prayers of his friend, St. Martin of Tours. A consoling 
promise, which it is to the glory of God to recount here, just as 
Blessed Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew has left it to us in her 
Autobiography. 



n 



CHAPTER XI 

PERSECUTIONS AND CALUMNIES 

Arrival of Blessed Mother Anne of St, Bartholomew at Tours — Per- 
secution and Calumnies of the Heretics; How She Triumphed Over 
Them — Renown of the Carmelites — Chosen Subjects Who Applied — 
Graces and Favors With Which God Crowned His Servant in the New 
Monastery. 

I had been three years in the monastery at Paris, when a noble- 
man of Touraine, M. de Fonteines-Marans, asked our religious 
Superiors to found a convent at Tours, on condition that I should 
make the foundation. Therefore, the Superiors sent me with three 
other religious of the monastery at Paris in whom they had con- 
fidence. 

In the city of Tours there was a great number of heretics and 
schismatics. As soon as they saw us approaching and crossing the 
Loire, they said : " Oh ! that they might be drowned before leaving 
the river, and remain there forever engulfed." They soon con- 
ceived a great hatred for me. They said that I was a wicked 
woman, an idol of the papists. It was my good fortune that a 
great servant of God, most friendly to our convent, converted by 
this excellent means a notorious woman. She brought her one 
day to our church and left her afterwards in the exterior apart- 
ments of our Out-Sisters. This she did at my advice. Towards 
night, in order that they might not take her away by force, she 
took her to another house of women, where she would be secure, 
and encouraged her to keep her good resolutions. The heretics 
who were seeking her and who had seen her enter our church and 
the part of the house occupied by the Out-Sisters, said that we 
were all like her, and that we had children within the enclosure 
of the convent. This report was spread with so much malice, that 
even the Catholics became somewhat doubtful. To stop and re- 
fute this calumny, I begged one of the magistrates of the city, a 
man known for his integrity, and who was one of our friends, to 
do us the favor to enter the cloister. I told him, the monastery not 
being finished, I intended having some cells built, and that it 
would give me great pleasure if he would visit the entire convent 
to give me some advice regarding this matter. My intention in 
acting thus was to prove to him the falseness of the reports which 
were being spread regarding us — that I admitted men into the 
cloister by a secret door, which must be in the upper part of the 
monastery. He therefore entered ; I took him everywhere and 
begged him to notice how all was arranged. After this visit, 
when he had seen all with his own eyes, he defended us in the 
city; he said he was convinced of our innocence, that he had vis- 
ited the entire cloister, and that our having a secret door was false. 

78 



Persecutions and Calumnies 

For my part, such calumnies did not disturb me in the least, 
because I knew that sooner or later the truth would be known. 
They had lied most frightfully, and I laughed at it all. This news 
was carried twenty leagues away amongst heretics who could not 
visit us. It even reached Paris; and one of our Superiors came 
post haste from that city to Tours in order to discover what could 
have given cause for such odious calumnies. 

In the midst of this great trouble I recalled the vision I had 
when coming to make the foundation at Tours. The Saint ap- 
peared to me on the way, just as she was when still living. While 
I was walking in her company, I noticed that we were passing 
through thorns which did not prick us. The Saint drew near 
me and said: ''Go forward with courage; soon I will treat you 
a little better." It was not long before I experienced the truth 
of these words. The calumnies with which they wished to stain 
our honor were but harmless thorns which could not wound me; 
and I enjoyed in this new monastery a peace and repose which 
quickened the life of my soul. 

The heretics, however, continually pursued us with their 
hatred. One day a servant of one of these heretics, who was very 
rich, made a hole in the wall of the yard where we kept the 
chickens. I had it closed and made known to the gentleman that 
one of his servants wished to take our chickens, and that I was 
certain he knew nothing of it, for I considered him too honorable 
a man to tolerate anything of the kind. He was astonished at this 
message, seeing that we did not consider him a heretic ; and I have 
since been told that he has returned to the bosom of the church. 
What touched him deeply, and gained his heart, was that far from 
making any complaint against him before the magistrates who 
had come for information on the subject, we said that we con- 
sidered him an honorable man. This caused admiration among 
the seculars. They said : ''These Teresians, whether we will it 
or will it not, will end by converting us all to the faith." Truly, 
I longed for it with all my heart; I treated them with great re- 
spect and honor. There were with me excellent religious who 
desired their conversion with the same zeal and offered unceasing 
prayers for this end. Notwithstanding all the attempts of calumny 
to lower us in public opinion, this monastery, which God pro- 
tected, exhaled a marvelous odor of virtue. Wealthy young ladies 
belonging to the highest families came from afar to ask for the 
habit. One day twenty met there together asking for this favor. 
It was truly reason for giving praise to God. 

There, under the protection of St. Martin of Tours, God 
granted me great favors. I had no director, it is true. I was 
alone, without anyone to whom I could make known the interior 
of my soul. He to whom I confessed did not understand one 
word of Spanish, and I did not understand French. The Superior 
of the Order only came once a year, but that did not trouble me 
at all. God filled me with consolation. He gave me at Tours the 
favors of which He had deprived me at another time. He granted 

79 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

me some which kept me for several days strong in His spirit and 
by the aid of which I could practice, with great facility, exercises 
of penance and virtue. Crosses, it seemed to me, had doubled my 
strength. Without knowing how, I kept recollected in the pres- 
ence of God. I acknowledge that God then gave me experience 
of the spirit of St. Paul ; and I felt that He made me understand 
it was the same God who inspired St. Paul who gave me this 
spirit, so that it was by experimental knowledge that I could say : 
"Who now will separate us from the charity of Jesus Christ?" 
No, nothing, neither labors nor the want of necessary things. I 
was really intoxicated with love ; and if this God who had given 
it to me had not at the same time given me strength. Nature, left 
to herself, could not have borne it. In this state, I said also like 
St. Paul : **I desire to be anathema and to die for my brethren 
and for Jesus Christ my Savior." 

As on such occasions the soul offers herself with love and an 
entire, unconditional resignation, without reserve, this Adorable 
Master said to me in this very Monastery of Tours: "The glory 
of the just is to do My will." But these words, that the glory of 
the just consisted in doing His will. He said to me with ineffable 
love ; my soul was so deeply touched, I was as if exalted and car- 
ried out of myself. 



80 



CHAPTER XII 

VISIONS 

Efficaciousness of Her Prayers for Elenor of Bourbon, Aunt of King Henry 
IV, Abbess of Frontevrault — Edifying Death of This Princess — Pro- 
phetic Light of Blessed Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew — Apparition 
of Father Jerome Gratien of the Mother of God and of Dona Casilda de 
Padilla, Daughter of the Adelantando of Castille — Our Lord's Consoling 
Promise to the Carmelites of the Monastery at Tours. 

While I was at Tours, the Abbess of Frontevrault, whose place 
is only about two days' journey from the city, fell ill. Her nieces, 
the Princesses of Longueville, were with her. The elder one, who 
was acquainted with me, wrote to me frequently to give news of 
the state of her aunt's health. I desired to serve them as far as 
was in my power. I owed it to them, as without my having in 
any way merited it, they were very kind to me and had consoled 
me in my troubles. I, therefore, recommended the Abbess to 
God, praying that this God of goodness would grant her the 
graces to make her salvation certain; to speak truly, I was not 
without anxiety for her; she had to give account of several mon- 
asteries under her Abbey, which, owing to a succession of wars 
and heresies, had become lax and were going to destruction. 
Therefore, I repeat, I feared for her. One day, the sick nun and 
her nieces sent me word to pray for her with all the fervor I 
could ; in fact, death was approaching and God allowed me to 
know it. The physician who attended her was very faithful in 
coming to give me an account of her condition. That day when 
he came to the monastery, God had already shown me that the 
sick nun was in extremity and that she was in need of my prayers. 
Becoming immediately recollected in prayer, I saw a legion of 
demons entering the apartment of the Abbess. Her poor soul was 
plunged in deep affliction. At this sight I was filled with grief, 
but at the same time I felt great confidence in God. In my afflic- 
tion I turned towards God, with the hope that He would grant me 
the favor I asked, and immediately I saw Jesus Christ as He was 
when He conversed in this world, vested as a Bishop and divinely 
beautiful, enter the apartment of the dying nun. He was wonder- 
fully majestic ; and was accompanied by a great number of angels 
and saints. Suddenly, as if overwhelmed by His appearance, all 
the wicked spirits fled, rushing out through the first means of 
escape. At the same time I saw this blessed soul come out of her 
agony, and the Divine Master took her with him. They said that 
she had been very good ; in all that depended on her she had 
proved herself an excellent religious, and was very charitable to- 
wards her religious in their troubles. 

This apparition of the Abbess of Frontevrault was not the only 
one. I received others of persons still living and far distant from 
me. 

81 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

Father Jerome Gratien of the Mother of God appeared to me 
two or three times during his life, while he was oppressed by suf- 
fering and afflictions. He allowed me to see what he was endur- 
ing. He appeared to me since, when the Turks wished to make 
him a martyr in Africa. He showed me the fire they had pre- 
pared and in which they wished to burn him. But I did not see 
the other torments to which they subjected him. I saw only the 
fire which was kindled and into which they intended casting him. 
I then saw some Moorish women who craved pardon for him. I 
saw that the Father was not thrown into the fire, and that he 
felt inexpressible grief because the palm of martyrdom was not 
for him. 

And now another vision of this kind was granted me. 

A religious, Casilda de Padilla, after having made her pro- 
fession in our house at Valladolid, was obliged to leave this mon- 
astery. Her parents, with the authority of an order they had ob- 
tained from the Pope, obliged her to enter another Order. She was 
under the impression that this Order, which was that of St. Francis, 
aspired to greater austerities than the one she had left. Therefore, 
she thought she would find greater consolation there and less affec- 
tion would be shown her, for the marks of esteem shown her 
caused her great suffering; she was the daughter of the adelan- 
tando of Castille. This blessed spouse of Jesus Christ merited by 
her character and virtue these marks of esteem ; and as she was 
truly humble no one could help loving her. While our own Saint 
was in this convent at Valladolid, Casilda went to visit her, for 
the Saint had great regard for her, but when she could not speak 
to our Mother she came to me and remained with me a night 
and day. For the friendship we felt for each other was very 
great. When Casilda left this monastery, we were no longer 
there. She appeared to me at Avila, being still alive. She was 
deeply afflicted and said to me : '*Oh ! my Sister, what pain I suffer 
where they have placed me !" This caused me great grief because 
I loved her very much. She had asked to go to the monastery at 
Avila in order to be far from her parents, but could not obtain per- 
mission. When she appeared to me, as I have said, I was fully 
thirty leagues distant from her. 

Sunday after the Ascension, the day on which the Most Blessed 
Sacrament was placed with great solemnity in this house of 
Tours, while I was preparing for communion and asking our Lord, 
-that this beginning might receive His blessing, and that with this 
same blessing He would deign to assist all of us who were present 
and all who would enter until the end, this Adorable Master gave 
me great assurance that He would do so, and that He granted my 
request. From that moment until the present day, I have known 
by experience that this favor has been granted us, both by its vis- 
ible effects and its work in the souls of our Sisters. 



82 



FOURTH BOOK 

CHAPTER I 

DEPARTURE FROM PARIS 

Departure From Paris 5th of October, 1611 — Arrival at the Carmel of St. 
Joseph of Mons — Sojourn for One Year in This Monastery. 

I left Paris the day following the anniversary of the death of 
the Saint. Although I had no desire to go to Flanders, I took this 
journey, my soul filled with the consolations which God sent me. 
I remembered that when leaving Spain, I had a vision which 
seemed to me of little importance. I saw that I would not remain 
seven entire years in France, and that before the expiration of this 
time, I should go to the Netherlands. And so it was: five or 
six days were wanting to the termination of the seven years. 

Before leaving Tours our Lord showed me a light, and by the 
aid of this light I saw a house ; it was precisely the one that served 
as a dwelling when we took possession of our new foundation at 
Antwerp. I recognized it, as well as the young lady whom our 
Lord also showed me in this vision. She was the first received 
and was called Teresa of Jesus. 

When I arrived at Mons I was very cordially welcomed by our 
Sisters. I remained in their midst just one year. 



83 



CHAPTER II 

FOUNDATION AT ANTWERP 

Anne of Saint Bartholomew Appointed to Make the Foundation at Antwerp 
— Revelation Regarding the Great Destiny of This Monastery — It Was 
Founded on the 6th of November, 1612— Assistance From the Jesuits 
at Antwerp — Choice Subjects Who Made Application — Mile, de Dompre 
Was the First to Take the Habit and Received the Name of Teresa 
of Jesus — The Best Site in the City Was Chosen for the Building of 
the Convent — Assistance of Our Lord and of St. Teresa. 

During my stay in the Monastery of St. Joseph at Mons, they 
spoke of the foundation at Antwerp. I did not in the least antici- 
pate such a mission; I was certain they would give the charge to 
one more capable than I. I was obliged to accept it since obedience 
imposed it on me. The day following that on which the will of 
the Superiors had been made known to me, whilst recollected after 
communion, I turned towards our Lord, and recommended this 
project most earnestly to Him ; I begged Him to give me grace to 
act in all things according to His good pleasure, and to inspire my 
Superiors not to give me charge of this undertaking, in case He 
did not wish it. This Adorable Master consoled me, as He had 
done on other occasions, and said to me : "Take courage, and be- 
lieve that this foundation will give light to all this country." After 
these words I took courage to embrace the cross, and did not doubt 
that our Lord's promise would be fulfilled. 

From the beginning of this foundation, God brought us very 
capable souls, with great interior spirit, subjects who were accom- 
plished and belonged to the ranks of the nobility, and this to the 
great astonishment of all worldly people. I maintain for a cer- 
tainty that the Saint governed this house and took especial care 
of it, and that our Lord did the same, as has been known by 
experience on several occasions. 

On our arrival in this city our poverty was so great that we had 
only fifty florins, and even this was borrowed. The Fathers of 
the Society of Jesus gave us all that was necessary to celebrate 
the first Mass, for we had absolutely nothing. The magistrates 
from the beginning were not favorable to us, and wished to send 
us back ; but God had arranged everything in such a way that this 
monastery was esteemed by the entire city. During the three 
years we have been here, in all that regards the Church it has been 
better provided than others in ten years. We have bought the 
best site in the whole city. I had neither solicitude nor grief; 
God gave me such lively faith, such a conviction that it was our 
Lord Himself who took care of the convent and the Saint was the 
Prioress, that very often I imagined I was still serving her as I 
had done when she was living, and that she did the rest. I often 
had proof of this. 

84 



Foundation at Antwerp 

It was not imagination, it was the truth; and now even while 
writing these pages I have felt that she was with me, and that it is 
she who directs all and governs in my place. God has by this 
means given me a peace, a consolation which surpasses all that 
one can imagine. My prayer has been more continual and God 
has given me in it greater favors. 



85 



CHAPTER III 

WONDERFUL FAVORS FROM GOD 

Zeal With Which She Burned for the Glory of God, for the Church, and 
the Salvation of Souls — This Zeal Becomes a Real Martyrdom — Light 
Received on Holy Thursday Regarding the Passion of Jesus Christ — 
Eternal Salvation is the Fruit of This Meditation — Vision at the Pro- 
fession of a Religious and at the Renewal of Vows by the Community — 
Vision on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and on the Feast 
of the Three Kings — Wonderful Favors She Received From the Divine 
Master. 

Since my arrival at Antwerp our Lord has in a very noticeable 
manner diffused into my soul the unction of His love and His char- 
ity. I have almost continually enjoyed the presence of God. From 
time to time I have shown more tenderness of charity, I have 
had a more ardent desire for the spiritual welfare of my neighbor; 
at other times I have felt an ardent thirst for the salvation of 
souls and an insatiable zeal for the exaltation of the church. This 
charity, I can say in all truth, causes me a real martyrdom of 
heart, and I cannot resist it. 

At the sight of the needs of the Church, my soul experiences 
great intensity of zeal. When I seek pardon for sinners and to ap- 
pease His anger, God shows me such great love that I know not 
how to express the feelings of my soul, it is as if my soul, free from 
the dominion of the flesh, sees herself in a place of sweetness and 
delights, where she finds in her one Well-Beloved and Master all 
that she can desire. Truly she desires nothing for herself; her 
only desire is for the honor and glory of her Well-Beloved. This 
is why she repeats to Him unceasingly: "Lord make Thyself 
known to all, so that all may love Thee ; do not permit, my tender 
Master, that souls should be ignorant of who Thou art." The 
soul utters these words with great love and great confidence, and 
she adds: *T know, my Lord, if Thou wilt reveal Thyself and 
wilt try to make Thyself known, all will love Thee." And this 
Divine Master is so pleased that I should speak to Him in this 
manner, that He shows ever-increasing love for me. O Infinite 
Goodness ! what confusion for me when this vision has passed 
away, to realize that this infinitely good God does look at my 
faults, but seeks only to make Himself known to me in order 
that I may love Him. He who is Love itself! At first it is by a 
tiny light and a little sweetness that He appeals to the soul, but 
this light and this sweetness are like a small fire which is kindled 
at first by straw and, if afterwards wood is thrown on it, becomes 
a great fire whose heat is unendurable. 

One Holy Thursday our Lord showed me the immense love of 
the mystery of the day, and the great love this Adorable Master 
bears towards souls. Whilst my soul was delighting in these 
divine mysteries, our Lord gave me to understand, that if each 

86 



Wonderful Favors from God 

day we would think once only of His Sacred Passion and of the 
love with which He suffered for us, no matter how short this con- 
sideration might be, it would suffice for our salvation and draw 
great graces upon us. The love of God which I experienced in 
contemplating this mystery was so great, it seemed as if my soul 
was about to separate from my body, and that my last hour had 
come. If God had not put an end to this transport, it would have 
been impossible for me to bear it. As a consequence of this favor 
my soul was so peaceful and so filled with the love of God, that I 
would have been glad to have taken all my Sisters and all creatures 
into my heart. From that time I felt, in all the powers of my 
soul, greater strength than formerly. 

On another occasion, while a religious was making her pro- 
fession, I was seized with an ecstasy of love of God, and my soul 
entered into deep recollection. When she was pronouncing her 
vows, I saw that the Infant Jesus received them and, carrying 
them away with Him, presented them to the Eternal Father. 

Another time two religious were making their profession in 
this monastery, and I saw that our Holy Mother was between 
them, having a very majestic appearance, which was given her 
by God. 

At Paris while two religious were making their profession, I 
also saw our Holy Mother and our Lord Jesus Christ, between 
them. 

Here at Antwerp the Divine Master was pleased to favor me 
with another vision. On the Feast of the Presentation of the 
Blessed Virgin, being all assembled in Chapter, we renewed our 
vows after the example of our Holy Mother, who left us this cus- 
tom and wished this renewal should be made on the very day when 
the Virgin was presented in the Temple. After having pronounced 
our vows at Chapter, we went to the Choir to present them to the 
Most Blessed Sacrament. My soul entering there into recollec- 
tion, our Lord did me the favor to show me how agreeable this 
act had been to Him, and that the Sisters would continue in His 
grace in recompense for the act they had made with their whole 
heart. 

At certain times our Lord deigns to show my soul greater 
familiarity than usual. He gives me then unbounded confidence 
that He will be pleased with all that I ask of Him. Here is an 
account of what happened to me in this house at Antwerp. On 
the eve of the Feast of St. Catherine, a letter was brought to me 
in which I was shown how insignificant I was, and my incapacity 
for governing. I remained calm, without yielding to the least un- 
favorable thought. I went to the Choir and said to the Divine 
Master that I wished only to live for Him and His honor. He 
appeared to me as He was on this earth, with a countenance radi- 
ating peace and great majesty. He remained for some time at 
my side, then disappeared. So great a favor caused my soul to 
enter into profound recollection, and the impression it made upon 
me remained several days. 

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Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and the Octave 
day, I had wonderful consciousness of the presence of the Blessed 
Virgin and of this mystery. One day during the Octave in par- 
ticular, I had an intellectual vision of the Blessed Virgin all re- 
splendent in glory ; but this vision lasted only a short time. 

One day I felt greatly mortified because my age and weakness 
would not permit me to perform as much penance as I wished. 
Our Lord made me understand that the most important thing 
does not consist in performing wonderful exterior acts and show- 
ing great feeling, but a good heart is what He prizes and wishes 
from us. This, it is to be understood, is when we cannot do the 
good that we desire. 

During the Octave of the Feast of the Three Kings, while 
recollected in prayer, I meditated on this mystery for which God 
had given me particular devotion. I saw the most Holy Virgin 
with the Infant Jesus in her arms, and she made me understand 
that He very often dwelt in my heart in the same way. 

My Adorable Master quite often taught me how I should gov- 
ern, and this was a very great grace for me, as I was so ignorant 
and simple. 

He deigned quite often also to grant me the highest favors, 
without my having merited them, and without my knowing how to 
make Him any return. 

On the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls, I have always 
received particular graces from this Adorable Savior; but this 
past year, during the entire Octave, He was pleased to shower His 
graces upon me, showing me at the same time greater love. One 
could not believe with what love He treats this poor soul, so un- 
grateful and so faithless. Sometimes I feel our Lord as intimately 
united to my soul as if He were my Brother. One day during this 
Octave, I was awakened by Him, and when I awoke my whole 
soul was so inflamed with love I could not bear it, and yet this 
Adorable Master united Himself more and more closely to my 
soul ; at last He opened His Heart and placed me therein. 

There my soul enjoyed something of this wonderful ecstasy; 
in truth, the transport did not seem to me to have lost any of its 
intensity, but it was sweeter; as a fire, which, without raging, 
gently burns itself out. This love does not always act in this 
manner in the soul, but comes and goes. As for feeling Jesus 
Christ united to my soul, the truth is, that though I do not see 
Him, I have greater certainty, it seems to me, that I possess Him 
than if I saw Him. During the time I enjoyed this precious com- 
panionship, I felt not the slightest effort in the practise of virtue ; 
my soul was raised to such a state of simplicity that, in the practise 
of virtue, what was painful to it before, now became easy. The 
only difficulty is regarding the soul ; it is as if water were flowing 
over a stone without making an impression. 



88 



APPENDIX 

CHRONICLES OF ANTWERP 

To the Account of the Blessed Mother, Taken from the Manuscript 
Chronicle of the Convent of Antwerp. 

From the time of her arrival at Antwerp, the 29th of October, 
the year 1612, our holy Mother experienced the first effects of that 
loving Providence which had been her support, in the fortress where 
she was lodged with her companions, in the home of Don Ignatius 
Borgia, who was governor at the time. He lived there with Madame 
Helena, his wife. They both considered themselves very happy 
to receive one whom they honored as a Saint, and who was re- 
vered as such by everyone. This Blessed Mother received from 
these persons proofs of unusual kindness, which have become like 
an inheritance in their noble families. And this kind interest has 
ever continued toward the mother and her daughters, who in 
gratitude desire to render immortal the memory of their generous 
benefactors. 

God also, who took care of all that concerned His faithful 
servant, wished to carry out her desire in this matter, rewarding 
a hundredfold the favors she and her daughters received from this 
nobleman. Don Ignatius, carried away by the passion for gam- 
bling, was in danger of being lost ; he owed the origin and progress 
of his conversion, as he himself has declared, to our Mother, and 
this grace was the reward of the hospitality he had shown them. 
He chose her from that time as his advocate with God, and as 
his spiritual Mother. Under her holy direction he changed his 
life entirely, and wept over his sins with the greatest sorrow. 
Every day, notwithstanding his occupations and cares, he went 
to consult her, or at least ask her blessing. She was so prudent 
in the spiritual guidance of this nobleman, in causing him to 
give up all his bad habits, stripping himself of the old Adam to 
clothe himself anew with Jesus Christ, that he persevered con- 
stantly in the path of salvation which she had pointed out to him, 
and merited by his penance and contrition for his sins to die 
the death of the just. 

The Reverend Fathers of the Society of Jesus, always apos- 
tolic m^en, gave ample proof of it, by helping with their discourses 
and their altar furnishings these poor servants of Jesus Christ. 
It was they who heard their confessions until the year 1618. 

Our Blessed Mother had a white wax candle burned during 
all the Divine Office in the choir of the church, in honor of our 
holy Mother St. Teresa, in order that she might be pleased to take 
interest in assisting her daughters ; which custom has been ob- 
served since and is continued even at present. Therefore, they 
have never been in want of the necessaries of life. But here is 
another admirable proof of the divine Providence which brought 

89 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

them help and assisted them in their sickness and infirmities. 
During the first days that they were in this little house, Reverend 
Mother Mary of the Holy Spirit was taken so ill one night that 
our Blessed Mother feared losing her; and, as they did not yet 
know any physician, they did not call one. But our Saint, ac- 
cording to her custom, only made known her need to our Lord ; 
then going to the front door, which she opened at four o'clock 
in the morning, and calling the only person who was in the street, 
she addressed these words to him: "Are you not a physician?" 
He replied, "Yes," and she took him in to see her sick one. 
Then it was learned that this was M. Nugnez, first physician in 
the city, who from that time until his death continued charitably 
to attend and assist with much affection the sick of the house 
and considered himself well recompensed for his trouble, in having 
had the happiness of being a witness of the holy death of the 
Blessed Foundress of our Monastery. 

Our Mothers lived almost three years in this House ; where 
the perfume of their sanctity and above all that of their holy 
Superior rejoiced all hearts, and won for them a greater amount 
of esteem and affection than all the contradictions and opposition 
they had suffered in their holy undertaking. They began to re- 
ceive such generous alms that they shared it with others, and 
continued to live thus very comfortably as far as our 
rule will allow, without having bank account or revenue, until the 
year 1636. The Blessed Mother then thought the time had come 
to dig the foundations for the new building in which they were to 
live. It was necessary to choose the site. Having visited several 
places with Father Thomas of Jesus, then Superior of that prov- 
ince, without being satisfied, she stopped finally before the spot 
where the monastery now stands, on a street commonly called 
the Rose-tree, and near the great parade ground which is be- 
tween the city and the citadel. Immediately on discovering this 
spot, so far from human traffic and so near the fields and the 
country, she said to Father Thomas of Jesus : "This is the place, 
my Father, where the songs of the birds will draw our minds to 
recollection." 

They then purchased this property, which had on it several 
small houses, with a garden large enough to build a poor cloister ; 
and without delay our Blessed Mother went to live there with all 
her daughters. Divine Providence was no less favorable on this 
occasion than heretofore; for at this time He inspired Mile, de 
Vertain, maid of honor to the Infanta Isabella and daughter of 
Count de Vertain, to ask for the habit of a poor Carmelite, under 
the direction of our Blessed Mother whose sanctity was in so 
great renown throughout the whole court. As soon as she had 
obtained the favor she asked, their Serene Highnesses, the Arch- 
duke Albert and the Infanta Isabella, with whom it was customary 
to honor their maids of honor with parental kindness, deigned to 
make a journey to this city, expressly for the purpose of assisting 
at the clothing of this one, which took place during the first part 

90 



Chronicles of Antwerp 

of September of the year 1615. And, to give greater proof of 
their piety and of their devotion toward our Blessed Mother and 
our holy Order which she was endeavoring to establish, they 
wished at the same time to lay the first stone in her convent; 
under this stone they placed two silver medals which were found 
some time after, when in order to give a better form to the build- 
ing they were obliged to destroy what had been commenced. 
The larger of these medals bears a Latin inscription, the transla- 
tion of which we give: 

"Albert and Isabella, by the grace of God, Infantas of Spain, 
Archdukes of Austria, Dukes of Burgundy and Brabant, Counts 
of Flanders and Holland, with their own hands these pious and 
happy princes have placed the first stone of this church in the 
year 1615." 

On the reverse of the same medal there is engraven a front 
view of the church, and this inscription : "Dedicated to the 
Blessed Teresa, Mother of the Carmelites." 

On the other medal, which is smaller, on one side is the pic- 
ture of the Archduke Albert, and on the reverse, that of the 
Infanta Isabella. 

These two medals are kept as a perpetual memorial in the 
archives of the convent. We learn from the first, not only the 
year when the first stone of our monastery was laid, but also 
that it was dedicated to our holy Mother St. Teresa, who is called 
simply blessed, because she was only beatified the preceding 
year. We must remark, however, that it is stated in- the Acts of 
the Monastery that it is dedicated at the same time to our glorious 
Patriarch St. Joseph, and to our holy Mother Teresa. 

After their Serene Highnesses had thus honored the first steps 
of this foundation, it was very easy to obtain from the magistrates 
official letters of admission. Therefore they bear the date of the 
26th of the same month of September, and their excellencies dis- 
patched theirs the following day, the 27th of September of the 
same year, 1615. 



91 



CHAPTER IV 

COMMENTARY 

THE GIFT OF MIRACLES GRANTED HER 

The Gift of Miracles Granted to Blessed Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew. 

For the past sixty years Anne of St. Bartholomew had labored 
for the glory of God. Spain and France had each in their turn been 
the theater of her zeal. During this long space of time she had 
won for herself the title of most faithful and unconquerable in 
the service of God. In return God had glorified her in Spain and 
France by making her sanctity shine forth in the world; but in 
the Netherlands He wished in some manner to glorify her be- 
fore the whole Church. He wished to show in open day how dear 
this seraphic virgin was to Him, and what immense credit she en- 
joyed with Him. He made His greatness shine forth in her; He 
treated her as a true Spouse, placed in her hands the treasures of 
His grace and His clemency. He adorned her in an incompre- 
hensibly higher degree than before, with the gift of miracles and 
prophecy. He made her name illustrious throughout the whole 
world and finally, by the graces with which He unceasingly en- 
riched her, caused her to rise with the flight of an eagle to the 
most sublime heights of sanctity. 

We will give the account of historians regarding the gift of 
miracles, the gift of prophecy and the renown for sanctity which 
made this virgin illustrious ; as for the high favors which crowned 
the last years of her life, she herself will picture them for us. 

First, regarding the gift of miracles, here is a marvel which 
shone forth in her during all the time of her stay at Antwerp. The 
inhabitants of this city having heard of the great things God had 
done by means of His servant in Spain and France, from the time 
of her arrival considered her a saint whose prayers were all pow- 
erful. Therefore they hastened to her in sickness and physical 
ills. They begged her to ask a cure from God, and were confi- 
dent if she prayed their request would be granted. Besieged by 
so many entreaties, a struggle arose in her soul between her 
humility and her charity. She was overwhelmed at the very 
thought that they could believe she was capable of obtaining 
anything by her prayers, and on the other hand her tender 
compassion for those who implored her help would not allow her 
to abandon them. What means did she employ then to reconcile 
the interests of these two virtues, humility and charity? Here 
is the way : she blessed water, dipping in it relics of Saints that 
she had, in order that the effect of this water would not be at- 
tributed to her, but to the intercession of the Saints and the power 
of their relics. The interests of heaven and earth were in this 
way reconciled. The servant of God no longer restrained the 

92 



The Gift of Miracles Granted Her 

ardor of her charity, and showed the compassion of the most 
tender of Mothers to all those who had recourse to her. 

The water rendered holy by her blessings and the relics of the 
Saint was sent to the sick ; and they no sooner drank it than 
they were cured, to the great astonishment of all who witnessed 
it. And when they went to thank her, she would say humbly 
that the cure was not due to her prayers, but solely to the relics 
of the Saints, which relics had given this virtue to the water. Her 
miracles were so continual and so numerous, that they might 
be considered as an unending miracle. After the death of the 
Blessed Mother they were examined, and the Bishop of Antwerp, 
after having scrutinized and weighed the depositions of the reli- 
gious, after weighty deliberation, with the advice of theologians 
and physicians, confirmed and approved them. We will now re- 
count the testimony of some of the religious on this subject. 

Mother Mary of the Holy Spirit, who had filled the Office of 
Prioress in the Convent of Antwerp, expresses herself thus : 
"Blessed Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew cured several fevers in 
this place with water which she blessed, making three times the 
sign of the cross and saying three Ave Marias. To shield her 
humility and hide the miracle, she dipped relics of the Saints in 
this water." 

Mother Catherine of Christ relates as follows what she wit- 
nessed while holding the office of turn-Sister in the convent at 
Antwerp : "While I was turn-Sister, great numbers of persons 
came to recommend themselves to the prayers of our blessed 
Mother, saying that they begged the holy Mother to recommend 
them to God. Not knowing at first whether by this name of holy 
Mother they meant our holy Mather Teresa or our saintly Prioress, 
I inquired and learned for a certainty that by this title they referred 
to Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew. Such was the renown of 
her sanctity and so great the faith and confidence they had in her 
prayers, that they came from all parts seeking the water she had 
blessed for the sick ; and the sick who recovered their health were 
very numerous. Every day so many persons came to the con- 
vent, that they gave no little occupation to the turn-Sisters, and 
our Blessed Mother was pleased to do them a charity." 

The other witnesses of so many miracles all speak in the same 
way. 

After this general exposition of the miracles of the Servant of 
God, we will recount some of special interest. 

As a secret of His love for His faithful servant, our Lord sent 
her a trial, apparently a most terrible one, in permitting one of 
her daughters, Anne of St. Teresa, to be struck by the pest. At 
this blow the affliction of the religious was unbounded. However, 
it far from equalled that of their saintly Mother. It was as a 
sword piercing her heart, when she realized the necessity of iso- 
lating the sick one from the community, and that she could neither 
visit her, speak with her, care for or serve her, as she was accus- 
tomed to do with the other sick, although Prioress. But this crtish- 

93 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

ing trial of the pest, after having spread fear and sorrow, was only 
to serve for the glory of God; it was to cause the charity and 
faith of the holy Prioress to shine forth in clear light; it was to 
exemplify the power of the Almighty in the sick one, together with 
the virtue of submission and the influence of Blessed Mother 
Anne of St. Bartholomew with God. Among the numbers who 
gave solemn testimony to the fact, let us listen to the testimony 
of the one who was miraculously cured. 

''When our Lord was pleased to strike me with the plague, 
I was in a short time in danger, and on the point of breathing my 
last sigh. My whole body was cold and bathed in the death- 
sweat; at the same time I experienced such pain in the heart, it 
seemed to me every moment would be my last. During this 
night, great things were taking place within me ; I was perfectly 
resigned to die. The Sister who was taking care of me came to 
see me; she found me in the throes of so great agony that she 
was greatly frightened and, leaving me, hastened to tell our holy 
Mother that I was on the point of giving up my soul. On hearing 
this our Blessed Mother charged two of the religious to tell me 
from her that she forbade me to die. At the same moment I 
felt that she was holding the hands of God, and that this great 
God would not carry out His designs on me, because of the fer- 
vent prayer addressed to Him by His servant. All the anguish 
and all the sorrow vanished ; I remained in great peace of soul and 
filled with admiration at the sight of the great power our holy 
Mother had with God." 

We will cite some other examples which will show that it 
was particularly in favor of her daughters that Blessed Mother 
Anne of St. Bartholomew loved to make use of her influence with 
God. Anne of the Presentation, while still in the world, was 
afflicted with severe and continual pain in the head. After re- 
ceiving the habit of Carmel in the Monastery of Antwerp, she 
felt during the novitiate somewhat relieved. But after her pro- 
fession, not only did the pains return, but they became so ex- 
cessive they did not leave her a moment's repose. One day she 
went in desolation to find the holy Mother. Filled with compas- 
sion she made the sign of the cross on her forehead and imme- 
diately her pains ceased, never to return. 

Another of her daughters was tried for six weeks by such 
continual and violent toothache, that she could neither eat, sleep 
nor take a moment's repose. She went to the Blessed Mother 
and begged her blessing; as soon as she had received it, she was 
entirely cured. 

Here is an account of the manner in which the holy Prioress 
miraculously restored health to another of her daughters, Mary 
of St. Joseph. We will borrow the very words of the deposition 
made under oath by this religious : 

"When the Sisters were sick," said Mary of St. Joseph, "she 
recommended them to God with so much aflfection that she would 
pass whole nights without sleeping. Once when I was suffering 

94 



The Gift of Miracles Granted Her 

from fever she came to see me early in the morning and said to 
me: *My daughter, I have recommended you to God and your 
fever will not return.' And so it was ; the Divine Master cured 
me by her prayers." 

This charity, which was so maternally tender and heavenly, 
could not be kept entirely within the monastery ; it passed with- 
out, bringing life and health to strangers who implored her help. 
We can only give some examples — a large volume would be nec- 
essary to recount all. 

John de Cors, an inhabitant of Antwerp, after having been 
long afflicted with malignant fever and ague, reached his end. 
Forsaken by the physicians and already in his agony, he remem- 
bered the great holiness of Blessed Mother Anne of St. Barthol- 
omew, and at the same time felt within himself the firm convic- 
tion that through her intercession he would recover his health. He, 
therefore, sent some one to beg her please to recommend him to 
God. The Saint did not delay in assisting him; she blessed a 
little water and sent it to him. Scarcely did the sick person drink 
it than he revived, recovered his strength, and was completely 
cured, and, as a greater evidence of the miracle, rose from his bed 
and went to work in his office as if he had never been sick. This 
miracle gained great notoriety throughout the whole town of 
Antwerp. 

Doctor Diego de Barreda, Chaplain of the Oratory of her 
Serene Highness the Infanta, and General Almoner of His Maj- 
esty's Army in the Netherlands, being at the point of death and 
at a great distance from the Blessed Mother, recovered his health 
through her intercession. While he was at death's door, the holy 
Prioress saw him in spirit, and, knowing his danger, recommended 
him to God, and obtained his restoration to life. She declared this 
to him herself some time after, when he visited her at the con- 
vent at Antwerp. 

In the cure which we are about to relate, the Divine Master 
made manifest in His servant a participation in that virtue which 
went forth from Him, while He was on this earth, and cured all 
the sick. 

In the Monastery of Tresiguen there lived a religious a prey 
to sufferings which death alone could relieve. For three years a 
cancer devoured and wasted her away, causing at the same time 
the most cruel torments. When there was no longer any remedy 
for her under heaven, except patience, she firmly hoped for re- 
lief in the prayers of Blessed Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew. 
She, therefore, came to visit her at Antwerp. Full of faith in 
her power with God, she begged her to lay her hand on her chest 
and to give her her blessing. The humble virgin at first made some 
excuse, but, soon overcome by the sick one and the religious who 
had accompanied her, she spent nine days in prayer, every day 
giving her blessing to the sick one. At the end of these nine 
days the religious was completely cured, and the miracle had the 

95 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

greater weight as the gravity of the illness and the impossibility 
of a remedy was better known. 

It was not only from her hands that this miraculous virtue 
went forth; but also from her clothing, as well as rosaries, pic- 
tures and papers which had been sanctified by the touch of her 
hands. This is what we read in the deposition of Mother Teresa 
of Jesus, who succeeded the servant of God in the charge of 
Prioress. Here are her words : ''Several sick persons were cured 
by only wearing some object which our holy Mother had used." 
And Mother Mary Margaret of the Angels expressed herself thus: 
"A very great number ot sick persons were cured by applying to 
their bodies papers on which she had written ; others carried them 
about them as relics. A soldier who wore on his breast one of 
these papers with the handwriting of our holy Mother was miracu- 
lously delivered from death; a musket having been discharged at 
him, the ball pierced the clothing which covered his chest, but was 
stopped by the letters traced by the hand of the Saint." 



96 



CHAPTER V 

COMMENTARY 
SPIRIT OF PROPHECY 

The gift of prophecy shone forth no less brilliantly in her than 
the gift of miracles. 

Prophecy is a supernatural light which illuminates not only 
the past and the future, but also in the present, what could not 
be known by the natural light of reason. 

Visions, revelations, apparitions, belong to the spirit of 
prophecy. It is proved by the account of the Venerable Mother 
that she was gifted with this spirit from the first years of her 
life until the very end of her long career. 

Here we will limit ourselves to the recital of particular 
prophetic lights which it pleased God to grant her. It will be 
sufficient to show us how the prophecy of Joel, "I will give my 
spirit to all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy," 
was accomplished in her. 

At Tours she saw the Abbess of Frontevrault, Eleonore de 
Bourbon, aunt of Henry IV, assisted at her death by our Lord. 

In this same city, Casilda de Padilla, daughter of the Adelan- 
tando of Castille, of whom St. Teresa has left such an admirable 
portrait in the Book of Foundations, appeared to her, manifesting 
her soul to her and confiding to her her sorrows. 

There again she saw Father Gratien, captive of the Moors 
in Africa, treated inhumanly by them, on the point of being cast, 
through hatred of the faith, into a pit ; and finally delivered by the 
pleading of some Moorish women. Finally it was at Tours that 
she was once more instructed by a light which she had had in 
Spain; she knew that after seven years' sojourn she would leave 
France and go to the Netherlands. She saw the house where 
she would found a monastery at Antwerp, and Mile, de Dompre, 
the first novice she would receive there. 

At Mons she learned from our Lord's own mouth, that the 
foundation at Antwerp would be a torch, which would cast its 
splendor and light throughout the whole country. 

When she was passing Marimont — villa of the Archduke 
Albert and the Infanta Clara-Isabella-Eugenia — noticing a young 
girl among the courtiers, she looked at her intently. The Infanta 
asking her the cause, she replied : "I look at her because she 
should be a religious." This reply astonished the princess, and 
the young girl still more, who was far from thinking then of the 
religious state. Therefore, she was unable to keep from shedding 
tears and saying: "Why should I be a religious, if I do not 
wish it?" "Do not weep, madamoiselle," replied the Blessed 

97 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

Mother. "When you come to ask to be received, you will desire 
it with your whole heart." In vain she wished to resist; the 
prophetic words she had heard were ever present to her. Finally 
she yielded to the call of grace. The Infanta wrote to the 
Blessed Mother, that from the time she had heard her words, she 
knew they would be fulfilled. She received the holy habit from 
the hands of the Foundress of the Carmel at Antwerp, and bore 
in religion the name of Clara of the Cross. 

John Gomez Cano had two daughters who had no thought of 
entering the religious life, and who, according to all appearances, 
were to remain in the world. However, our Lord gave His serv- 
ant to understand that He had chosen them for Carmel. Follow- 
mg the interior movement of the Holy Spirit, she prophesied to 
these two young ladies their entrance at Carmel. At first they 
found it very difficult to believe ; but Avhen the moment of grace 
came, they asked most earnestly of the Blessed Mother to give 
them the holy habit. One received the name of Mary Teresa of 
Jesus, and the other that of Catherine of the Mother of God. 

She propesied to Mary of St. Joseph, long before the event 
took place, that she would enter Carmel, and that she would be 
present at her death : a twofold prediction which was fulfilled. 

Dona Leonora de Pastrana came one day to visit the servant 
of God, and brought with her her daughter, who was not fifteen 
months old. The Blessed Mother looked at her, and taking her 
lovingly in her arms, said, that God would make her a Saint. 
Wonderful to relate ! God loosened the tongue of the little girl, 
and she who had not until that time uttered a word and did not 
talk until some months later, replied distinctly in an intelligible 
voice : *'Amen ! Amen ! Amen !" Our Lord confirming the truth 
and certainty of the prophecy by this miracle. 

Erneste de Ligne, wife of Count John de Nassau, was much 
grieved because she had no children. Trusting in the Blessed 
Mother's power with God, she went to her and begged her to 
obtain for her a son. Instructed by a supernatural light, the 
Saint replied: "Have confidence in our Lord, He will give you 
one." As the Saint had predicted, Erneste de Ligne gave birth 
to a son, but, alas ! she soon saw she was in danger of losing him. 
Addressing herself with faith to the one who had obtained him 
for her, she begged her to save him by her prayers. The servant 
of God prayed, and the child was miraculously cured. 

The following is a word for word extract from her own 
"Account of Her Life" : 

"One day during the Octave of Corpus Christi, our Lord, 
whilst showing me great love, invited me to make some request. 
The vision of the Divine Master caused me to enter into a state 
of supernatural recollection. I saw before me three persons: one 
was my sister, the other mv first cousin, and the third Antonio 
Perey, secretary to Philip II, and all three were then far from 
me. I asked for the salvation of these three souls, and our Lord 
showed me that He granted my request. Shortly after this I 

98 



Spirit of Prophecy 

received letters announcing to me the death of my sister and my 
cousin. My sister was drowned, and my cousin had succumbed 
to a fever, but God had called them both the very day they ap- 
peared to me. The death of Antonio Percy proved to me also that 
my request had been granted. Secretary and favorite of Philip 
II, he had committed some misdeeds. The sentence of death 
had already been pronounced against him, when he managed to 
escape. He took refuge in England; his sojourn there was the 
source of still greater evils for his soul. While I was in France 
he came to visit me ; he seemed to despair of his salvation — a 
feeling caused by the evil things he had done. Whilst speaking 
to him I felt drawn to him, and felt an ardent desire for his salva- 
tion. I have since been told our Lord touched his heart, and as 
I was then no longer in France, they wrote me that he died with 
the most positive marks of salvation ; he had prepared for it, re- 
ceiving the Sacraments very often, and having his confessor al- 
ways beside him. The day of his death he fell on his knees in 
an intense transport of love of God, and expired in this position, 
leaving us, as I have said, sure marks of his salvation." 

God revealed beforehand to Blessed Mother Anne of St. Barthol- 
omew the time of her death. This is how it was known : A 
fervent novice, who, because of her health, could not remain at 
the Carmel of Valenciennes, came to tell her trouble to the Blessed 
Mother. Guided by a prophetic light, Anne of St. Bartholomew 
said to her "that at Ghent she would enter a monastery of an- 
other Order, to which God called her. She added: "1 will still 
be living when you make your vows there, but I will live but a 
short time after that act." All was verified : the novice was re- 
ceived at Ghent in the monastery at Dorisee of the Order of 
Citeaux; her novitiate finished, she made her solemn profession 
there on the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, the year 1626, at 
10 o'clock in the morning, and on the same day, four hours later, 
as will be seen, Anne of St. Bartholomew left this exile. 

We will close this chapter by the relation of a fact in which 
the prophetic light of the servant of God shone forth in a most 
touching manner. In the College of the Jesuits at Antwerp there 
dwelt a holy religious; a man of very high prayer and filled with 
zeal for the salvation of souls ; he had great renown for sanctity 
in the city and throughout the whole country. This apostolic 
man, this son of St. Ignatius, was Father John Chailant. From 
the time of her arrival at Antwerp, Blessed Mother Anne of St. 
Bartholomew had had intimate relations with him, and her soul 
had received much light and great consolation from the words and 
direction of the man of God. On the day of the Feast of St. John 
the Evangelist, patron of the holy Jesuit, Anne of St. Bartholomew 
was in a profound ecstasy; in this ecstasy God revealed to her 
the sanctity of His servant, and was pleased to make known to her 
his wonderfully beautiful death. The holy religious was sitting 
in his cell, his hands raised to heaven, his face full of joy. The 
holy athlete of Christ, also seeing near him the seraphic virgin, 

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Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

whose sanctity he understood, said to her with a look of happi- 
ness never to be forgotten : "St. John the Evangelist has just been 
here; he has given me the most consoling news possible for me to 
receive in this world — it is that at this very hour I must depart for 
heaven." Having said these words he took his flight to the 
heavenly country, in presence of the inseparable companion of St. 
Teresa. Having come out of the ecstasy, Anne of St. Barthol- 
omew knew she could be certain that the holy Jesuit had left this 
exile at the hour and in the way she had seen. 

It is sweet to us to recall by this account the memory of this 
apostolic man, and to attest the intimate relations which, from 
the beginning, existed between the daughters of St. Teresa at 
Antwerp and the Fathers of the Company of Jesus, for what the 
holy foundress, Blessed Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew estab- 
lished, should be kept up until the end. 



100 



CHAPTER VI 

COMMENTARY 
RENOWN FOR SANCTITY 

This humble virgin never had any aspiration other than to 
serve God at Carmel and to be unknown in the world ; but the 
more she humbled herself, and hid herself from the eyes of men, 
the more God made her known, and the more her heroic virtue 
and miracles made her celebrated throughout Christendom. Princes 
and kings never mentioned her name but with reverence. 
Philip II, King of Spain, held her in very great esteem and ven- 
erated her as a Saint. All the lords and ladies of his kingdom, fol- 
lowing the example of their sovereign, thought it a great happi- 
ness to communicate with her by word or letter. Henry IV, King 
of France, his Queen, Marie de Medici, and all the nobility of the 
kingdom, considered her as an angel from heaven ; and she was 
truly an angel in character and by the graciousness with which 
she gained the hearts of the French people. 

Her renown was beyond belief; almost all the kings and Chris- 
tian princes of Europe begged her to recommend them to God. 
The King of Spain wrote to her Highness, the Infanta Clara- 
Isabella-Eugenia, to take the greatest care of this religious, to 
whose prayers he believed he owed the preservation of the citadel 
of Antwerp. The Prince of Poland visited her and asked her for 
little pictures with her name written with her own hand, that he 
might give them to his father, the king, and to his brothers. Dur- 
ing the conversation he was filled with so great reverence that he 
was unwilling to cover his head in her presence ; it seemed to him 
there was about this virgin, nothwithstanding her poverty and 
humility, a certain majesty which obliged him to remain with head 
uncovered before her. 

On a memorable occasion Paul V showed the esteem he felt for 
this Blessed Mother. He had been shown the documents of the 
process instituted for the canonization of St. Teresa ; and though 
there were to be found there the depositions of persons high in 
secular and ecclesiastical dignity, learned and pious religious 
whose testimony had great weight and great authority, he said 
the testimony which pleased him most because of its depth and 
worth, was that of Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew, not only 
owing to the sanctity of the person, but also because of the Order, 
the arrangement, the clearness and admirable justice with which 
she recounted the virtues, actions and words of the holy Mother, 
whose disciple and companion she had been. 

But among Christian princes, no one equaled her Serene High- 
ness the Infanta Clara-Isabella-Eugenia, in her confidence in and 

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Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

respect for Blessed Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew. Being 
in her country home at Marimont with the Archduke Albert when 
the Blessed Mother was on her way to found the Monastery at 
Antwerp, their Highnesses wished her to stop there, in order that 
they might see her and enjoy her holy company. The Archduke 
held a conversation with her first, and after that the Infanta never 
left her. They were both charmed with the sanctity which shone 
forth from her. After this interview their veneration for her per- 
son and their faith in her power with God were unlimited. The 
Infanta kept up an intimate correspondence with her. She con- 
sulted her regarding the most important affairs, and never under- 
took anything of moment, without having first recommended it to 
her prayers. She considered her one of the strongest defenses of 
her dominions. One of her ministers having one day represented 
to her the necessity of reinforcing the troops of the citadel and 
the city of Antwerp against the enemy, she replied : "I fear noth- 
ing for the citadel, nor for the city of Antwerp, for Anne of St. 
Bartholomew is there, and she alone is worth all the armies of 
the world." 

When she was about to lay siege to Breda, she stopped at 
Antwerp, entered the convent three times, had long conversations 
with the servant of God, and humbly throwing herself on her knees 
before her, asked her blessing. She requested the Blessed Mother 
to come to the door of the cloister and bless the grandees of her 
court and the chief among the officers who were leaving for Breda. 
"Receive, sirs," she said to them, "the blessing of Anne of St. 
Bartholomew, which will be your safeguard and the pledge of 
your victory." All with bowed heads and bended knee received the 
blessing of the servant of God; and soon after the Catholics en- 
tered Breda as victors. 

The renown of her sanctity spread through all Germany and 
the Northern countries. Catholic Poland, the country of Stanislaus 
and Sobieski, revered her as one of the holiest souls then in the 
world. Here are the terms in which the Primate of the Church of 
Poland wrote to this illustrious Spouse of Christ: "Blessed Vir- 
gin, consecrated to God; Mother and Sister dearly beloved in the 
Lord. We have blessed the God of heaven, that in this sorely tried 
century He has in your person manifested to the world a most 
brilliant torch of true piety and real sanctity, shedding its light in 
the Order of Carmel ; and because He has exalted you by the gift 
of the richest and rarest ornaments of grace, as we have learned 
from our well-beloved and venerable Brother Andrew of Jesus. 
We will not fail to beg the Father of Mercy an increase of grace 
for you, and that He will favorably receive your prayers, to which 
I recommend my person, this kingdom, surrounded on all sides by 
fierce and barbarous nations, the king whom God has placed at 
its head, and the holy Catholic church whose ship is tossed about 
by the upheaval of such great wars. I beg of you, virgin con- 
secrated to God, to remember Us in the prayers you offer Him 
daily. And may it please our Lord to preserve you for long years, 

102 



Renown for Sanctity 

most brilliant star of your holy Order, support and ornament of 
the Christian people. 

"From Zesnena, this 26th of September, 1623. 
"Your Father and servant in the God of your charity, 

"LAURENCE, 
"Archbishop, Primate of Poland." 

While the Primate of Poland was writing with such veneration 
and confidence to the Blessed Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew, 
the general of the Polish troops also wrote a letter in terms of 
most lively faith and filial respect. He begged her to recommend 
to God the soldiers of Catholic Poland, and himself who marched 
at their head. 



103 



CHAPTER VII 

COMMENTARY AND TEXT 
PROTECTRESS OF ANTWERP 

In 1622 and 1624 she prevented, by her prayers, the city of 
Antwerp from falling into the power of the Dutch, which 
caused her to receive the glorious title of Guardian and Liberatrix 
of Antwerp. Before placing before the reader the continued ac- 
count of the Blessed Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew, it seems to 
us only just to speak of the immense difference between the Hol- 
land of that time and the Holland of today. At the beginning of 
the 17th century, Holland was still subject to the infatuation of 
heresy. The fanaticism of error exciting the political passions 
among this people, they committed excesses against the Catholic 
religion which impartial history has recorded, and of which we 
need not speak here. 

But during the 19th century Holland underwent a change. 
Catholics formed a third of the population, and the return to union 
with the church was in most consoling numbers. The actual dis- 
senters were of too noble sentiments and were too enlightened to 
share the violent hatred of other times. They sincerely respected 
the liberty of Catholics, and worked in union with them to estab- 
lish the prosperity of their country on a solid basis. It is true to 
say the Catholic church is really free in Holland. No country has 
surpassed Holland in the generosity of its Peter's pence, and in 
the numbers of the defenders of the Papal States. The whole 
world knows today, and history will tell it to the most remote 
countries, that Holland sent 1,224 Zouaves to Rome, and that one 
single diocese, that of Harlem, counts in this number 669. Their 
feats of arms, their heroic bloodshed for Christ and His Church, 
will form the most beautiful page of the history of Holland during 
the nineteenth century. In all the records there will ever live the 
reply of the Zouaves of Holland to their sovereign, when he asked 
them: 'What would you do were I attacked?" "We would make 
for you a rampart of our bodies, and we would defend you as we 
defended Pius IX." It is said that at these words the monarch 
shed tears of tenderness : noble tears which did honor to the prince 
and the Catholic Church. 

In one word, Holland, because of all she has done for Pius 
IX and the Church, has been honored with the admiration and 
sympathy of the Catholic world. As for us, we cannot doubt that 
in the plans of Providence, Holland, as well as England, is re- 
served for great destinies. When these two peoples will place 
at the service of the Church the grand qualities given them by God, 
they will wonderfully advance the spread of the Gospel in the 
world. Let us now listen to the account of Blessed Mother Anne 
of St. Bartholomew : 

104 



Commentary 

Regarding these matters of the war, some things have occurred 
in my soul which are undeniable. The day on which Maurice 
Nassau, Prince of Orange, marched at the head of a great army 
with the fixed resolution of taking Antwerp, he placed most of his 
troops in many ships. The night was very serene and tranquil ; 
he said to his followers with the most joyous air in the world: 
"We will see that there is no one but God or the devil who can 
cause the failure of my undertaking." He assured them that they 
would take Antwerp, and that they would return rich. But sud- 
denly a great tempest arose and a very violent cold wind, which 
froze the water; and the ships with those aboard were instantly 
sunk. Maurice alone saved himself and with much difficulty, run- 
ning the risk several times of drowning, struggling against the 
tempest, the water and the ice, in such wise that he was sorely 
wounded. From that day he had no health, and finally died in 
consequence of this mishap. 

That very night, knowing nothing of the treachery of our 
enemies, I was seized about midnight with a great fear and I 
commenced to pray, my arms extended towards heaven, with great 
impetuosity of fervor. My arms becoming fatigued from being thus 
uplifted, I let them fall ; it seemed to me that someone raised them 
again towards heaven and an unknown voice said : 'Tt is not yet 
time to stop, keep them raised towards heaven." And I re- 
mained thus until near daybreak. I felt then that what I asked 
had been granted. And really, it was so. 

On another occasion, having gone to bed and being already 
asleep, I was awakened by cries coming from the dormitory of 
the religious. These cries continued after my awakening; I called 
out and, two Sisters coming, I said to them : "Go through the 
cells, and see which of the religions is sick, for I hear cries." The 
two Sisters, after having made the visit, returned to say to me : 
"All the Sisters are sleeping, and there is no one sick." I then 
said : "Tell all to dress, and we will go before the Blessed Sacra- 
ment, for there must have been some treachery. It was our holy 
Mother herself, it seems, who wakened us." And we all went be- 
fore the Most Holy Sacrament. I then said to our Lord : "I bring 
Thy servants to Thee here. May they ask Thee what I desire ; for 
my part I can do nothing" ; and I meant what I said ; for it is 
the truth that I felt confused in our Lord's presence. 

We remained a little time in prayer, and soon I felt, without 
seeing or hearing anyone, that we could retire. I forgot to say 
that at the same time I heard the cries, I also heard the signal 
calling to arms in the citadel. I looked through the windows to 
see if there were any lights in the fortress, for we could see it 
from our house. I did not perceive any light, all was dark. In 
spite of that, I felt that some danger threatened us. 

A few days ago I awoke at two o'clock in the morning. A 
powerful emotion in my soul told me it was necessary to pray, 
which I did. But after some time, as I was weary, I went to bed 
again. It was useless. I had become the prey of an anxiety which 

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Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

would allow me no repose. I recognized by this that our Lord 
willed that I should pray. I began then to pray, my hands raised 
towards heaven, experiencing a strong emotion which told me to 
plead for mercy. For two entire hours, from two o'clock to four, 
without consciousness of myself, and powerless to resist, I re- 
mained with hands raised to heaven and interiorly urged to ask 
for mercy. All the following day I was like one dead, my body 
bruised, as if it had been beaten with a stick. I knew not then 
what had happened; but they told me later that the heretics had 
attempted to take possession of the city by surprise, and that they 
had not been able to succeed. 

EXTRACT 

From the Chronicles of the Carmel of Antwerp — How Our Blessed Mother 
Was Chosen by God to Be the Protectress of This City of Antwerp, 
Before and After Her Death. 

Among the privileges and advantages which make this great 
city one of the most important in the world, one of the most note- 
worthy is that of having possessed several great and holy per- 
sons, such as St. Eloi, St. Wilebroed, St. Norbert, St. Walburge 
and several others who honored it by their presence, some to 
preach the Gospel there, others to defeat the heretics, others to 
obtain by their holy prayers a shower of heavenly blessings ; but 
not one remained here, all finished their course elsewhere. There 
was no other, as far as we have been able to learn, but our Blessed 
Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew, that great servant of God, 
worthy inheritor of the spirit of St. Teresa, who finished her days 
here and has left us her venerable body, as a precious relic, in 
order that we might realize that Divine Goodness had destined 
her from all eternity to be the protectress of this city during her 
life and after her death. Therefore, we can say that she was 
admirably associated in the work of all the Saints who preceded 
her: for if she did not preach the Gospel as an apostle, her sex 
not permitting her to preach in the church, she at least cast light 
into human hearts, attracting so many beautiful souls here to 
the practise of the evangelical counsels in the religious state, by 
the renouncement of worldly goods, by unceasing prayer, and by 
the practise of all the lessons that our divine Master has left us, 
even to the commanding us to become perfect as His heavenly 
Father is perfect. 

We have already seen, and we shall see again, how she has 
drawn down a shower of heavenly blessings on this city, by the 
communicating of every kind of grace which the citizens declare 
have been received through her intercession. We shall now see 
how she vanquished, if not heresy by means of argument, at least 
the heretics by her powerful prayers, when in the strength of 
their ams they threatened to bring this city under their power 
and deprive it of the liberty of practising the Catholic faith. 

106 



Protectress of Antwerp 

In the year 1622 the Prince of Orange provided a powerful 
army, with such ingenious weapons of war, that, seeing the wind 
in his favor, encouraged also by the assurance given him by the 
heretics of the city that he would meet with but slight resistance, 
he cried in a loud voice, so that all heard : "I am certain of victory ; 
beyond doubt I will succeed in my undertaking ; only God can 
frustrate it ; I fear now no human power." He then continued his 
route. God inspired His servant to pray earnestly, which she did, 
commanding her daughters to join their prayers with hers as fer- 
vently as possible, telling them to plead with our Lord not to 
abandon His faithful ones, and to repeat it several times. Her 
zeal was redoubled at two o'clock in the morning, and she prayed 
with so much fervor that her body sank to the ground from 
weakness. Before five o'clock, Reverend Mother Teresa entered 
her cell ; in seeing her the servant of God said : ''My daughter, oh ! 
I am so weary ! I feel as though my body had been beaten ; there 
has been some great treason, for it seems as if I had fought against 
a whole army, and when I wished to rest a little, not being able 
to do more, and I lowered my arms which I had raised to plead 
with my God, a voice cried to me: 'Still longer, longer, longer 
still !' I was all bathed in perspiration." 

Afterwards she continued in prayer until she heard these words : 
"It is finished." 

Two hours later they learned the effect of these earnest and 
ardent prayers, and that in proportion as the servant of God re- 
doubled them, the waters were troubled and the wind changed, so 
that when the Prince of Orange reached a town called Presbos, a 
frightful tempest arose, and at the same time the cold became sud- 
denly so intense they could not make use of the ropes on the 
ships, which were striking one against the other ; soldiers perished 
with their horses ; and their presumptions Prince considered him- 
self happy to be able to escape ; he who shortl}^ before thought 
that no one could withstand his power, fled vanquished by the 
power of the prayers of a Saint. However, he did not profit by 
the lesson, since he wished to attempt it again in 1624. 

He undertook to surprise this city by the citadel in which there 
was not a large garrison ; and the enterprise was so well conducted 
that he approached with his army of 20,000 men as far as a village 
called Berchem, at the gates of Antwerp. About nine or ten 
o'clock in the evening, having learned the position of the Catholic 
army, he detached a body of 2,000 men, who went directly 
to the fortress, carrying with them small boats, scaling ladders 
and other warlike instruments ; they left the other soldiers near 
by in order to be aided by them in case of need. Having de- 
tached four sections of the chain which held the counterscarp of 
the fortress, they by this means slipped into the ditch scaling 
ladders twenty-six feet long, and two pieces of wood of the same 
size used to slip noiselessly into the ditch two little boats in which 
were the engineers ; these reached the other side of the ditch, having 
with them another scaling ladder and other wonderful instru- 

107 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

ments to destroy the drawbridge. They thought the moment of 
victory had arrived, when our Venerable Mother, true rampart of 
the faith and of this city, heard pitiful cries in the dormitory and 
knew that it was our holy Mother St. Teresa warning her of some 
treachery, and that the city was in imminent danger of falling 
into the enemy's power. She obliged all her sisters to rise, and 
led them to the choir before the Most Blessed Sacrament, to pray. 
There our good Mother was heard frequently repeating these 
words : "My Lord, if I, because of my sins, am the cause of this 
outbreak, may I be cast into the sea like another Jonas and let 
me perish rather than so many others." During this time a furious 
tempest arose accompanied by great wind which prevented the en- 
terprise of the enemy from succeeding. Moreover their soldiers 
were seized with extreme terror; and fear having taken possession 
of their army, they were discovered from the fortress, and took 
flight, leaving their boats, ladders and other instruments. 

This miracle as well as the preceding one, after very close 
study, was verified and approved by Mgr. Malderus, Bishop of 
that place. 

It was thus that God, in His great goodness, deigned to re- 
ward the zeal of His faithful servant for the defense and preserva- 
tion of this city, when in great danger of destruction. It was also 
for its good and prosperity that the holy Prioress so often exhorted 
her daughters to ofifer their prayers, being of the opinion that 
since it provided them with bread it was just they should pay 
for it by their intercession with God. And as she possessed in a 
high degree the virtue of gratitude, it would be difficult to describe 
how she appreciated the least charity shown her; she impressed 
this also on the minds of her daughters, and they on every occasion, 
when this city has been in any need, have recourse to their Blessed 
Mother. At her tomb they plead with her earnestly to continue 
after her death the good she effected with so much zeal during 
her life, and their confidence has not been disappointed, as they 
have experienced on different occasions. As for the miraculous 
assistance that the inhabitants of this city receive every day from 
the mantle she wore, and a little earth taken from the place where 
her body rests, of that we will treat more fully elsewhere. They 
are, however, sufficient evidence of the truth announced at the be- 
ginning of this chapter, since by this means can be seen the care 
she still takes to protect and assist by her powerful intercession all 
the inhabitants of this city. 



108 



CHAPTER VIII 

SHARE IN OUR LORD'S AGONY 

In the Midst of a Great Interior Trial, Our Lord Gives Her the Assurance 
That He Will Be With Her Until the Moment When He Will Conduct 
Her to Heaven — Share in Our Lord's Abandonment on the Cross, and 
in the Sufferings He Endured in Each of His Wounds, Until She Gave 
Her Last Sigh. 

During the war with Germany, our Lord gave me a great zeal 
for the exaltation of the Church ; it seemed to me my soul knew 
no repose day or night. But the divine Master, who showed me 
so much love at that time, suddenly hid Himself from me for 
several days. My soul was as if alone in a desert, and in deepest 
darkness. Moreover, I was disturbed by the fear that all the 
favors I had received up to that time were only illusions. I re- 
signed myself in all things to the will of God, but I experienced 
a contraction of the heart, as if it was held in a press. This was 
during the feasts of Christmas time, which I passed in a very 
different state from that of other years. On the Epiphany, as I 
was approaching the Holy Table fearfully, because of my want of 
fervor, our Lord appeared to me most lovingly ; before uniting 
myself to Him in communion, I was filled with an impetuous at- 
traction of love and deep recollection ; and while receiving the 
Sacred Host, the Adorable Master said to me : "I will be your 
companion, until I take you with Me to heaven." My soul seemed 
burning with love, and penetrated with reverence and gratitude 
towards His divine Majesty, who had granted me so great a 
grace and one which I had in no way merited. This vision and 
this experience passed very quickly ; but for several days I en- 
joyed the presence of God in a remarkable degree, together with 
habitual peace and consolation, and an ardent desire to begin at 
last to walk in the path of virtue, which I had never done until 
then. 

Now, I usually endure great sufferings in my soul, and have 
done so for two or three years. They are so great, that had I 
not known and enjoyed the goodness of our Lord, I might lose 
confidence. But He has left me this grace : that no matter how 
crushed I may be, I am always resigned to His will. This was 
my disposition in the midst of the pain before this transport of 
love of which I have just spoken. My soul suddenly saw itself 
enveloped in a kind of cloud darker than the darkest night experi- 
enced by bodily eyes. But this cloud, though dark and full of 
bitterness, is interior; and comes with such force that sometimes 
it causes my hair to stand on end. The soul accepts it, however, 
showing pleasure and very great resignation. Soon the cloud takes 
entire possession of her. Under its influence, the soul seems dying, 
she thinks she has reached the end of her life. She would not, 

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Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

however, even if she could, be free from this agony. She prefers 
to abandon herself entirely to this death, rather than resist it, 
since it is more pleasing to God. I do not know how it is that this 
so possesses all the powers of my soul, that I live as if I were 
not alive. All is quiet and the soul free, without knowing how it 
is so. For the pain is so interior, it seems I am in a strange 
country, where one neither sees nor hears anything agreeable ; 
there is nothing but darkness everywhere, and the soul feels so 
crushed, that it seems to be under a press. The one consolation 
she enjoys is not to be inclined to pass lightly from one object 
to another, as in other circumstances, and in other kinds of prayer ; 
she remains, on the contrary, firm in not wishing any diversion 
which could cause her the least scruple. To die and leave her 
exile would be her repose; but she does not ask it, neither does 
she wish it; not the slightest inclination leads her to desire any- 
thing but the state of resignation in which she is. The divine 
Master causes her to experience that abandonment of all things 
He felt in this world, and particularly during the time of His 
Sacred Passion. This sentiment and illuminatipn by which He 
revealed to me what He endured, is something so delicate that I 
have no words to express it and no meditation can raise us to it, 
if our Lord does not give us experience of it. And when this 
sentiment passes, another comes no less real and no less mag- 
nificent ; in this the divine Master allows the soul to realize the 
intense suffering which He endured in all His wounds, until finally 
He gave up His life in the midst of the abandonment of which I 
have spoken ; but He shows the soul that what gave Him the 
deathblow on the Cross was love. When the soul reaches this 
point, she can bear no more, and goes out of herself, saying: 
"Lord, take my heart from me. I wish to be consumed and to 
immolate myself entirely for Thee, and if this sacrifice of myself 
is necessary that Thou mayest be more and more exalted in all 
creatures, and that they may know Thee, ah, may I be entirely 
consumed and immolated in Thee!" 

I cannot tell in what way a soul who has this love and this 
experience offers herself in the presence of her God, nor how she 
says to Him : "Lord, if it is necessary for Thy glory, mayest Thou 
be exalted, and I immolated and sacrificed." Truly, when love 
reaches a certain point, it makes one mad, forgetful of one's self, 
and has the effect of delirium, if it can be so expressed. 



110 



CHAPTER IX 

VISIONS IN HER LAST HOURS 

Grace by Which Our Lord Makes Known to Her the Abandonment She 
Will Suffer in This World, and the Sorrow and Contempt She Will 
Have to Endure — He Said to Her: "You see what I have suffered; 
well, all that is for you" — Excess of Love With Which These Words 
Inspire Her — Apparition of St. Teresa — Love Which the Saint Shows 
Her — Admirable Vision of the Most Holy Trinity in Her Soul — Ap- 
parition of the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph — Ecstasy When It is 
Said to Her: "Your Spouse loves you dearly, and He suffers in seeing 
you suffer." 

Some time after having received this proof of the love of my 
God, I onee more fell into a great interior affliction, which was not 
less painful than the one I have first recorded. It lasted several 
days ; and as my soul was disturbed with the fear that the graces 
I had received were only an illusion, I turned to prayer and com- 
menced to consider the poverty and abandonment of Jesus Christ 
in this world, as well as the sufferings and contempt He had to 
endure. The divine Master showed it all to me in a Hght which 
I had never had before. It had never been granted me to penetrate 
these mysteries as I then did. I would like to be able to express 
or make known what was shown me then, but it is beyond my 
power. The divine Master revealed to me things so exalted that 
even if I passed my whole life reflecting on them, I could never 
find terms to express and make known what my Savior allowed 
me to experience at that time. My soul was in so great affliction 
that my strength would not have been able to bear the emotion, 
had not God come to my aid. The hour for Mass having arrived, 
I followed it; at the time for communion, I arose, but was obliged 
to make a great effort; at the moment when I approached to re- 
ceive communion, I saw that our Lord was there crowned with 
thorns, and He said to me : "You see all I have suffered ; well, all 
that was for you." I was as if out of myself, incapable of uttering one 
word. I then recalled those pronounced by St. Augustine : "Lord, 
if I was God, and Thou Augustine, I would become Augustine, in 
order that Thou mightest be God, so great is the love I bear Thee." 
1 can truly say that this same love and sentiment animated my 
soul ; and that the love which consumed me was excessive. 

Several days when I was making the meditation, our holy 
Mother appeared to me, with the same countenance she had in 
life. She showed me much kindness and love, and this on three 
different occasions. My soul being in deep recollection, I made 
an effort to rouse myself from it. I opened my eyes, and saw that 
the holy Mother was there; she embraced me, and I returned the 
•embrace; then she remained a few moments with me, and dis- 
appeared. I remained in deep recollection; and while in this 
state turned the eyes of my soul toward the good Jesus and His 

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Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

holy Mother, who were in my heart, as I have said. Suddenly 
I saw in spirit the Holy Ghost and the Eternal Father in great 
Majesty; they were above Jesus Christ, as when they were present 
at His baptism, which He received from the hands of St. John. 

This vision was of very short duration, but my soul continued 
so filled with God that, judging by what I felt, I could say with 
St. Paul: "It is no longer I who live; it is Jesus Christ who 
lives in me." Since that vision I have the happiness on certain 
days, to enjoy this same presence of Jesus Christ our Lord and 
that of His holy Mother. 

Some time after this favor, one morning on awakening the 
glorious St. Joseph placed before my eyes all the graces with 
which God had favored me, thus showing me that I was more 
and more obliged to tend to perfection. 

On another occasion I was for three days in such darkness 
and such agony of soul, I did not know where I was. On the 
feast of St. Matthew of this year, 1624, I went to the choir in the 
evening, and sat there, after having adored the Most Blessed 
Sacrament as well as I could. As a ray of light penetrates through 
the window of a dark room, so there entered into my soul a little 
stream of light, and I heard it said to me : ''Your Spouse loves 
you very much, and it grieves Him to see you suffering." From 
this little light, my soul was ravished in God ; and entirely out of 
herself she spoke in verse, expressing herself but with a slight 
difference in the words of the Spouse in the Canticles : 

"Oh, Fount of Crystal! 
Oh, that on Thy silvered surface 
Thou wouldest mirror forth at once 
Those eyes desirable 
Which I have in my heart delineated!" 

— St. John of the Cross. 

This satisfied and consoled my heart, which was as if famished 
and fainting from weakness. For, in that state of obscurity from 
which I had just emerged, nothing that I saw, nothing that came 
to my mind, satisfied me. I could not even meditate, as I usually 
do, for meditation consoles ; and then nothing good entered my 
soul. Blessed be this Adorable Savior, who cannot endure that 
we should be in pain without consoling us, and who merits be- 
cause of this that we should love Him with the purity He desires, 
as He has shown me not long since. 



112 



CHAPTER X 

COMMENTARY 

REVELATIONS TO HER FRIEND CATHERINE 

The Divine Master Appears to Catherine of Christ at St. Joseph's Mon- 
astery at Avila — Makes Known to Her the Interior Sufferings of Anne 
of St. Bartholomew, and Orders Her to Write to Her and Deliver His 
Messages — The Blessed Virgin and St. Teresa Appear to Her Also, 
and Give Her the Same Advice. 

As we have seen, from the time of her arrival at Antwerp, 
Blessed Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew had been on Thabor 
because of the wealth of divine consolations. To be the true 
Spouse of Jesus crucified, she must experience Calvary with its 
abandonment and sufifering. It was towards the last days of her 
life that it pleased God to complete her purification, by causing 
her to pass through the crucible and furnace of aridity, abandon- 
ment, and interior suffering. But while the divine Master shared 
His sufferings and abandonment on the Cross with His faithful 
servant. His love for her would not permit Him to see her de- 
prived of all consolation. Sometimes He Himself spoke to her ; 
and to pour balm on her interior crucifixion, a word like the fol- 
lowing was sufficient : "I will be your Companion until I lead 
you to heaven." But then, when He hid Himself from her again, 
and allowed her to drink deeply of the chalice of His abandon- 
ment on the Cross, He ordered one of her friends at St. Joseph's 
at Avila to speak to her in His name. This friend was Catherine 
of Christ, one of the holiest souls of the Spanish Carmel. Born 
in 1565 at Villacastin, the birthplace of Isabel of the Angels, and 
Ribera, the historian of St. Teresa, she was from her cradle the 
object of the predilection of the divine Master. Her older sister, 
Mary of the Conception, had entered St. Joseph's of Avila; she 
would have wished to follow her, but she could purchase this 
happiness only by long combats. Finally, in 1592, at the age of 
twenty-eight years, she saw the doors of St. Joseph's open for 
her, and the following year, on the 20th of April, she made her 
profession as a lay-Sister, taking the name of Catherine of Christ. 
The divine Master led her in very exalted paths and showered 
favors upon her. Catherine of Christ was an angel of purity, and 
a prodigy of penance, a soul living only for the salvation of souls 
and the love of God ; in one word worthy to be the friend of Anne 
of St. Bartholomew and to carry to her the messages of the divine 
Spouse. Having entered St. Joseph's of Avila twelve years be- 
fore the departure of the Blessed Mother for France, she had 
during this interval the happiness of watching her, of being 
formed in her school, and of coming in contact with the furnace 
of divine charity which consumed her heart. A union was formed 
between them which was destined to be eternal. These ties, which 

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Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

were so strong and so tender, were one day to aid the designs 
of God over Anne of St. Bartholomew. Therefore, when this 
virgin endured at Antwerp the sufferings we have related, our 
Lord appeared to His dear Catherine at Avila, and made known 
to her the interior crucifixion of her friend, telling her how pleas- 
ing her resignation was to Him, and what reward He had in re- 
serve for her humility and patience. He commanded her to write 
to her, and repeat the very words she had just heard. Catherine 
of Christ hastened to make known to her friend the message of 
the divine Master: 

"May the Holy Spirit, the spirit of fortitude, give you His 
love and consolation. Mother of my soul; to express and make 
known all my affection, and all my love for you would take too 
long; it is because you are so dear to me, that our Lord has ap- 
peared to me and made known to me your anguish and your 
sorrow. These are the words He has commanded me to repeat 
to you ; may He speak them to you Himself, and you, my Rev- 
erend Mother, receive them as coming from His divine mouth, 
for it is to you all these words are addressed. *My well-beloved 
daughter, cherished child, behold how much I love you and how 
dear you are to Me. Think that for love of you I came down to 
this world, and that My Father sent Me to drink a bitter chalice. 
From the day of My birth, I felt the cross. My holy flesh com- 
menced to suffer, and I never more ceased during all My life by 
day or night to bear the cross; finally like a lamb, I allowed 
Myself to be led to the slaughter. I was in complete abandon- 
ment, deprived of My honor, of My beauty, of My dignity, of all 
consolation, and in tribulation such as no man ever knew. To 
My Apostles, who were My friends, I did this favor to give them 
My Cross, and they were maltreated as I was. As for My Mother, 
she had the greatest share in My sufferings; she was the Queen 
of Martyrs, her martyrdom having been incomparably beyond 
that of all others. I love My daughter Anne so much, that I wish 
to place her, through suffering, in the rank of My apostles. It 
is as a proof and mark of My love that I send her bitterness and 
sorrow; in the same manner that I tried Job on the dunghill, 
and as in the abandonment of his friends and the deepest sorrow 
the strength of his love shone forth most resplendently, so I try 
My daughter Anne ; the greater the tribulations interior and ex- 
terior through which I cause her to pass, the more exalted will be 
the glory she will receive from My hands ; and the more will the 
martyrdoms she suffers shine in the precious crown I have des- 
tined for her. When all is over, Anne, My daughter, I will honor 
you in heaven, I will seat you at My table, and will reward you 
for all you have suffered after My example in such great aban- 
donment. And since by your prayers and your example, you hon- 
ored Me on earth, I will honor you in heaven. I have great feasts 
in reserve for you there ; and I will give you all that I possess, all 
that I enjoy. And what glory! it will have no end.' 

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Revelations to Her Friend Catherine 

"Now, see, my very dear Mother, all that your most loving 
Spouse has charged me to say to you. 

"CATHERINE OF CHRIST." 

This letter was written; but before it left for Flanders, Cath- 
erine of Christ had another admirable vision. The most holy 
Mother of God and St. Teresa appeared to her and told her to 
write to Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew to make known to her 
how much they loved her, and they promised on their part the 
greatest favors. Catherine of Christ obeyed without delay and 
added this new letter to the preceding one: "When I went to 
prayer, after having written to you, the most holy Mother of God 
and our holy Mother Teresa appeared to me, giving me proofs of 
much love. They told me their love for you was very great, 
and they ordered me to make this known to you and to assure 
you that they would assist you in all your sufferings and tribula- 
tions; that they would be your most faithful Mothers until the 
end, giving you always the support of their favor and their conso- 
lation ; that in the future life they will give you thousands of 
favors, and will receive you with open arms and with the greatest 
tenderness ; that therefore you should take courage and be greatly 
consoled ; that your pilgrimage will be well rewarded, and that 
the recompense will cause you to be inundated with joy." This is 
what the Mother of God and our holy Mother have told me. 

"Another day, after Holy Communion, the divine Master told 
me that He was laboring to adorn your heart, and beautify it with 
the greatest virtues, that He would give you all He possessed in 
heaven, and that He would guard you ; He added that He would 
Himself shine forth in your heart; thus giving you a grace above 
all other graces, and that He would protect all your religious ; He 
told me that He reserved for you a martyr's crown; that without 
having shed your blood, you had been a martyr in your will, and 
that your life had been a long martyrdom ; that He kept all writ- 
ten in letters of gold in His heart. All this comes from our good 
Jesus, and He has ordered me to write it to you. Adieu, my dear 
Mother." 

The Blessed Mother received these letters at Antwerp, at a 
moment when she had reached the highest point of her interior 
sufferings. They dissipated the clouds which enveloped her soul, 
and restored its serenity. 

The divine Master, as we shall see in the following chapter, 
revealed also to Catherine of Christ the circumstances of the death 
of Anne of St. Bartholomew, and the secrets of the great ecstasy 
which would precede it. 

Catherine of Christ did not survive her holy friend more than 
one year; after having consoled her by sending her the messages 
of her divine Spouse, and after having in some sort written the 
last page of her life, she went to share her glory. 



115 



CHAPTER XI 

COMMENTARY 

HER GLORIOUS AND HOLY DEATH 

Glorious and Holy Death of Blessed Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew. 

We have now to describe one of the most beautiful and most 
holy deaths ever granted a Christian to witness. 

God, who delights to return to His Saints glory for glory, 
willed that the marvels He caused to shine forth during the life 
of Anne of St. Bartholomew should be known to the Church. Eye- 
witnesses, the daughters themselves of the Foundress of the Car- 
mel of Antwerp, made known some part of these wonders. The 
servant of God, by the words she addressed to her daughters, 
made known another part. Finally the divine Master revealed to 
Catherine of Christ, the holy friend of the saintly virgin, the 
secrets of her last ecstasy and of her entrance into heaven. 

Therefore this death, in a cloister closed to creatures in a poor 
little cell, this death which must be, apparently, hidden in 
obscurity, was to be known to the whole world, and the account of 
it pass on to all future generations. Marvelous effect of the will 
and omnipotence of God ! — this cell where Anne of St. Bartholomew 
died has become a public sanctuary for the whole universe, and it 
is granted all the members of the Catholic Church to look upon the 
sublime scene of this holy death ; history permits us to assist at it. 

Anne of St. Bartholomew had reached the seventy-sixth year 
of her age. From her tenderest years she had offered herself to 
God, she had consecrated to Him her virginity. She had lived 
more than half a century in Carmel. In Spain, she had the glory 
of following, as an inseparable companion, the holy Foundress in 
her final apostolic labors, and of holding her in her arms at her 
last hour. 

France possessed her seven years, and God granted miraculous 
fruitfulness to the mission she filled there. 

For fourteen years she seemed like another Teresa in the Car- 
mel at Antwerp, the masterpiece and crown of all her works on 
earth. The divine love, whose fires her heart had felt from the 
earliest years of her life, never ceased increasing until the very 
end of her career ; it had now reached the intensity of that of a 
seraph. 

Apostolic zeal, the great virtue, the distinctive mark of Carmel, 
consumed her. Like the prophets and apostles, she had always 
been devoured by a holy zeal for the glory of God, for His church 
and for the salvation of souls. 

The virtues practised in an heroic degree during so many long 
years had raised her to a height of sanctity known to God alone. 

116 



Her Glorious and Holy Death 

As for the merits she acquired, and by which was to be pre- 
pared the crown destined for her by the just Judge, their immensity 
will not be known except in the light of heaven. 

The austerities, the labors, sufferings from without, interior 
crucifixion from the hand of God, had made her life a long mar- 
tyrdom. 

By her purity, her zeal, her patience, she had merited the crown 
of virgins, of apostles and of martyrs. 

Finally to describe in the words of the Holy Ghost Himself, so 
noble and holy a life, Anne flourished like the palm tree in the 
Church of God, and she was multiplied like the cedar of Libanus. 
This cedar covered, with its branches, Spain, France and the 
Netherlands. 

How precious the death of this virgin was to be in the sight of 
the Lord ! The day predestined for her entrance into heaven was 
the 7th of June, in the year 1626, feast of the Most Holy Trinity. 

In her filial confidence, Anne of St. Bartholomew had asked of 
our Lord to die on this beautiful feast, and our Lord granted it to 
her. He did more. He revealed to her the year and the hour when 
He would call her to Himself. This much-desired hour was about 
to sound at last. During the three days which preceded the feast 
when all was to be consummated, the three divine Persons of the 
Most Holy Trinity were pleased to adorn the happy virgin for the 
eternal nuptials. Anne of St. Bartholomew, who already greeted 
the day of her deliverance, abandoned herself with transport into 
the hands of her God, and unceasingly responded with the most 
heroic fidelity to the gifts and favors of which she was the object. 

The Thursday before the feast of the Most Holy Trinity, the 
divine Master visited His faithful servant towards evening, and 
shared with her what had been His most precious possession in this 
world, His cross. Anne of St. Bartholomew was suddenly seized 
with a fever which consumed her ; the night was passed in this fire 
which was for her a sort of purgatory. 

But in the morning, rising at the usual hour and overcoming 
the fire of the fever by the fire of divine love with which she was 
filled, she went to unite herself with Jesus Christ in Holy Com- 
munion. 

Possessing the divine Guest and already leaning on Him to take 
the journey to heaven, she remained on her feet almost all day, 
notwithstanding the suffering and sickness she experienced. To- 
wards five or SIX o'clock in the evening she made a general con- 
fession to the Prior of the Discalced Carmelites ; the Lord so per- 
mitted, in order that they could have from her own mouth this 
memorable testimony : "By the grace of God," she said to her 
confessor, 'T do not think I have ever offended God mortally dur- 
ing all my life." 

On returning from the Oratory where she had made her con- 
fession, being in greater suffering, she went to bed towards seven 
o'clock in the evening. Then the divine Master, wishing to give 
her a new proof of His love, caused her to endure a part of the sor- 

117 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

rows of His passion. She felt in her left shoulder one of the most 
dreadful pains that could be endured here below : it was as if the 
bones were dislocated and were leaving their place. This martyr- 
dom lasted all the night from Friday to Saturday. Though she 
was an ocean of patience, she, however, ordered a Sister to touch 
her shoulder, pronouncing at the same time the name of Jesus. The 
religious were surprised that she had thus asked to be relieved, 
having always noticed, that no matter how great her sufferings, 
she never complained. They suspected there was something 
extraordinary in it. The heroic Spouse of a crucified God, keeping 
her secret, did not make known to her daughters the intensity of 
the martyrdom she had endured all that Friday night; she only 
asked the relief we have mentioned. But the day of the feast of 
the Most Holy Trinity, when towards midnight, as we are about 
to see, the divine Master imprinted upon her for the last time His 
Cross and His sufferings, the Blessed Mother said to a Sister: 
"My daughter, if in the suffering which I endured all Friday night, 
our Lord had not strengthened me, by making me understand that 
it was similar to what He Himself endured, when they stretched 
out His arms to nail Him to the Cross, I would undoubtedly have 
despaired and lost patience." 

Thus the secret of her suffering was revealed. That Friday 
night she was on Calvary with her divine Master ; she shared part 
of His crucifixion. All day Saturday she endured this great agony 
of suffering. The divine Master then lifted the cross, and poured 
oil on the wounds He had inflicted on His faithful servant. He 
renewed her fortitude, because in His love for her He would twice 
again place the same chalice of suffering to her lips. Saturday 
night, our dear lover of the Cross once more ascended Calvary: 
the Well-Beloved permitted her to be overwhelmed with suffering ; 
she was consumed with fever, her other pains increased, and in 
her shoulder, which seemed dislocated, she felt the tortue experi- 
enced by her divine Savior when they stretched His sacred arms to 
nail them to the Cross. Crucified and inundated with happiness, 
ever ready by excess of suffering to give up her soul, and in a rap- 
ture of love at being able to share the cross of her well-Beloved, she 
united her sufferings to those of her Savior, her Spouse and her 
God. Thus passed the hours of this second night. Witnessing 
the excess of her sufferings, the Sisters who assisted her feared 
every moment she would expire in their arms. But this Saturday 
night was the last of her exile. The Cross was to reap for this 
faithful Spouse of a crucified God an immense harvest of merits: 
all that night angels adorned her crown, and each each moment of 
crucifixion, so lovingly borne, was a new diamond added to this 
crown. 

The dawn of the longed-for day broke at last : it was the feast 
of the Most Holy Trinity. Anne of St. Bartholomew came down 
from the Cross, and the divine Persons commenced in the earliest 
hours of that great day to pour into the soul of this virgin, who 
was so dear to them, the first waves of that torrent of delights, at 

118 



Her Glorious and Holy Death 

whose fountain-head a few hours hence their love would immerse 
her for all eternity. They rained down graces and favors upon her 
soul. They appeared to her in an intellectual vision, as they had 
done many times before, but now the veil which concealed the 
divine essence and the adorable mystery of the Most Holy Trinity 
became more transparent. And, as the Most Holy Trinity is all 
love, by communicating with this soul in a more intimate manner 
than ever in the past, they left it consumed with love. And, as the 
beauty of God appeared to her in a brighter light, she received a 
divine wound deeper than all that had preceded it. She was burn- 
ing with such ardent love, so wounded, in such great ecstasy, the 
thought of the infinite felicity of God already weighed so heavily 
upon her, that the strength of her love would have a thousand 
times broken her bonds, if God had not by a miracle detained her 
here longer. But after these ecstasies, after these visions of the 
adorable mystery, foretaste of the clear vison and entire possession 
of God which was to succeed them in a few hours, Anne of St. 
Bartholomew could no longer contain within herself the great joy 
she experienced. She was as if transfigured; she was made as 
beautiful as an angel ; that flower of eternal youth, unchanging 
gift of the inhabitants of paradise, shone from that countenance 
where suffering the two preceding nights had set its sign and seal. 
She conversed with some of her daughters regarding the mystery 
of the Adorable Trinity ; but from her burning words, one would 
think a seraph spoke with her mouth. All that morning Anne of 
St. Bartholomew was as if inebriated with heavenly delights. 

Towards midday the Most Holy Trinity was pleased to show 
His power, and to bestow with greater munificence than ever be- 
fore the infinite treasure of His graces upon this well-beloved vir- 
gin. Wishing to raise her merits to a supreme height, in order 
that her glory might be the greater, He granted her yet more 
precious graces than those of ecstasies and inebriation with divine 
jove. A third time Anne of St. Bartholomew felt herself fastened 
to the cross of her divine Master, and she endured the suffering 
or rather the crucifixion of which we have spoken. While she was 
a prey to this exquisite martyrdom, which completed her resem- 
blance to her dear crucified Master, she asked them to place a 
relic of the holy Mother Teresa on her shoulder, to see if it would 
relieve her suffering. But Teresa, whose will was united to God's, 
Teresa whose motto was, "To suffer or to die," aided her in suffer- 
ing and was careful not to lessen her merits by relieving her pain. 
Anne of St. Bartholomew, who knew the hour when God would 
call her, then sent a message to the Discalced Carmelite Fathers, 
begging each one to say an Ave Maria for her, and she asked her 
daughters to do the same. A change was soon visible in her coun- 
tenance, and her condition announced the approaching end. The 
Carmelite Fathers arrived at the same moment as the physician ; 
and realizing there was no longer any hope, they hastened to give 
her Extreme Unction. Before receiving it the Blessed Mother, who 
had lost the power of speech, but preserved full consciousness, 

119 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

made with her own hand the sign of the cross on her mouth, and 
on her tongue, which had become stiff and motionless. 

While she was receiving these sacred unctions, a miraculous 
change took place in her. Her countenance shone, her features, 
contracted by pain, became composed ; the wrinkles of age dis- 
appeared ; a supernatural beauty appeared on her face, transforming 
it, causing it to shine with a light infinitely more pure than the 
flower of youth. Suddenly the eyes of the seraphic virgin were 
raised on high towards the side of the wall, they beamed with in- 
describable brightness; they were fixed upon the divine object 
which had just appeared to them. Anne of St. Bartholomew con- 
templated what was revealed to her, with an ecstatic smile. This 
rapture lasted for the sp.ace of a quarter of an hour. 

What passed then? The divine Master, while desiring that a 
solemn silence should accompany this vision, willed, however, that 
the great things which took place in these supreme moments should 
be known for all time in the Church. He, therefore, revealed all 
to the tender friend of the seraphic virgin, to Catherine of Christ, 
who was at St. Joseph's of Avila. And it was by favor of the nar- 
rative of this confidante of the divine Master that we can assist at 
all the marvels which took place during this last ecstasy. 

The cell of Anne of St. Bartholomew presented a spectacle sim- 
ilar to that witnessed in Alba in Spain, the 4th of October, 1582, at 
nine o'clock in the evening, in the cell of the seraphic Teresa, when 
the divine Master, with His Mother, St. Joseph, the ten thousand 
martyrs and a numerous escort of angels, came to seek the soul of 
that virgin. The Saint, at that solemn moment, was leaning on the 
heart of her faithful companion, Anne of St. Bartholomew; she 
was encircled by her arms, she wished to pass from the arms of 
this angelic virgin to those of her Savior and her God. The divine 
Master, who willed at last to place the crown upon her head, re- 
vealed Himself to her soul in greater beauty than ever before, and 
with still greater love. This beauty and love gave to Teresa's soul 
a double wound which caused her death. And from the heart of 
Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew, her last support in this world, 
she passed to the heart of her God, there to rest during an eternity 
of centuries. 

At Antwerp the scene of Alba was repeated, but with a some- 
thing greater and still more solemn. The day on which Anne of St. 
Bartholomew was to enter triumphantly into heaven was the feast 
of the Most Holy Trinity. During that day, which is so holy, the 
entire heavenly Court unceasingly exalts this most Adorable 
Trinity, and no feast, even in heaven, is comparable to it. In the 
decrees of His ineffable love, the divine Trinity had chosen this 
solemnity to crown the companion of St. Teresa. Coming down 
from the heights of heaven and followed by the heavenly Court, He 
appeared to this happiest of virgins, revealing Himself to her in 
an intellectual vision. Therefore, Anne of St. Bartholomew con- 
templated in her ecstasy the three divine Persons of the Most Holy 
Trinity, and with them the heavenly Court which accompanied 

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Her Glorious and Holy Death 

them. The divine Master was there before her eyes; the Im- 
maculate Virgin was there, as well as St. Joseph ; she looked down 
upon her with motherly eyes ; the virgins surrounded her, prepared 
to be her guardians on her entrance into the glory of heaven ; the 
Saints, men and women, all the blessed Spirits, regarded affec- 
tionately the one whom the Most Holy Trinity deigned to honor 
with such a weight of glory, and eagerly longed to have her with 
them in paradise. At last the divine Master spoke these words : 

"My friend and My well-beloved, come, enjoy the palm of vic- 
tory that you have merited by your patience, and by your per- 
severance in well-doing; the hour of labor has passed. Come, 
chosen Spouse, you have imitated Me to the very end, ever in- 
violably faithful to Me, and like a pillar in My Church, by your 
continual prayer and your rare humility. Enjoy now forever this 
eternal abode; you will be crowned with three crowns among the 
virgins and the martyrs." 

At these words, Anne of St. Bartholomew, wounded like 
Teresa with a wound of love which killed her, took her flight and 
rose upward, following the Son of God, to her eternal home, accom- 
panied by the canticles of the Saints and the heavenly Spirits. The 
three Crowns prepared by the Divine Spouse were placed upon her 
head, and the inseparable companion of the apostolic labors of St. 
Teresa is recognized throughout eternity as the inseparable com- 
panion of her glory. It is therefore at her side that she receives the 
acclamations of all heaven, and it is at her side that she celebrates 
with the whole heavenly Court this divine feast of the Most Holy 
Trinity ; and henceforth she will, for an eternity of centuries, par- 
ticipate in the glory and felicity of her God. 

But at the moment when the soul of this happy virgin took its 
flight towards heaven she bequeathed to her body, the faithful 
companion of her labors, a reflex of her glory, and imprinted upon 
it the eternal seal of sanctity. It remained in the attitude of 
ecstasy. The features wore the expression of rapture caused by 
the vision the soul had contemplated before leaving it. So won- 
derful a participation in the very majesty of God glorified this 
virginal body in such a way that one could not contemplate it with- 
out falling on their knees. A celestial perfume, an odor never 
known on earth, exaled from this body, which for 76 years had 
been the temple of the Holy Spirit, and which during eternity 
should be a thousand million times more resplendent than the sun. 
This perfume penetrated to the souls of those who had been wit- 
nesses of so holy a death, or rather of the commencement of a 
divine life. The greatly favored daughters of Anne of St. Barthol- 
omew shed tears for their Mother, but tears which contained some- 
thing akin to the joys of paradise. They kissed her feet and hands 
with all the tenderness of filial piety, and with most profound reli- 
gious respect. They felt that henceforth they could claim their 
blessed Foundress and Mother in an incomparably more devoted 
manner than when she was still living. She saw them in God, 

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Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

loving them in Him, never ceasing to intercede with Him for those 
she had so much loved in this exile. 

It was at her bedside the Carmelites of Antwerp finished cele- 
brating the feast of the Most Holy Trinity. During the night they 
still kept guard over their beloved Mother and contemplated her 
dear countenance; they turned to profit those most precious hours 
by confiding to her their requests and their desires, begging her to 
assist them by her influence with God. 

Happy the city where this pillar of faith was to remain standing 
until the day of judgment. Still more happy the monastery where 
this sanctity, brilliant as the sun, had terminated its career. Happy 
the city and the house which possessed the virginal body of this 
Spouse of Christ. Happy the families, who by their faith and de- 
votion, during the tempest of the last century, saved the sacred re- 
mains of this virgin : the blessings of God will fall upon them from 
generation to generation. 



122 



CHAPTER XII 

COMMENTARY 

HER LAST OBSEQUIES 

Funeral of the Blessed Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew. 

A ray of the future transfiguration had already fallen, as we 
have said, on the mortal remains of the new inhabitant of heaven. 
At the time of that stupendous vision, when the three Persons of 
the Trinity with all the heavenly Court had appeared to the virgin 
lost in an ecstasy, her virginal body was seen to be clothed, illumi- 
nated by the divine glory, and it remained as if engulfed in this 
ocean of light and sanctity. The impress of divine glory had re- 
mained upon her features. The inseparable companion of the 
seraphic Teresa triumphed at her side in heaven. God, who had 
united them by such intimate ties, was pleased to show the might 
of His arm, to prove to the world how dear they both were to 
Him, and how He honored them in His kingdom. He renewed for 
Anne what He had done for Teresa : at the moment when Teresa, 
in the form of a dove, took her flight to heaven, her virginal body 
exhaled a perfume which penetrated the whole Monastery of Alba. 
When her inseparable companion flew to the arms of her God, all 
the Monastery of Antwerp was inundated with a heavenly odor. 
The two virgins, at the moment of their entrance into heavenly 
glory, were like queens seated on a triumphal car; and after their 
last sigh they preserved that majestic attitude : the peace of heaven, 
the bliss of heaven, the glory of heaven was visible on their coun- 
tenances and their forms. God willed that the funeral of both vir- 
gins should be a veritable triumph. 

On Monday the Carmelites of Antwerp carried the body of their 
holy Foundress to the choir, and placed it before the altar. As the 
news of her death had spread abroad, there was an immense gath- 
ering in the church. The Catholic people of Antwerp were un- 
tiringly contemplating the countenance of this virgin ; they ven- 
erated her as a Saint; they recommended themselves to her; and 
all wished to have something which had touched her virginal re- 
mains. The first day, more than 20,000 chaplets or pictures touched 
this holy body. Following the example of the citizens of Antwerp, 
the people of the neighboring country hastened to see the Saint, 
to recommend themselves to her power in heaven, and to have 
some object of piety sanctified by touching her body. The Infanta 
Clara-Isabella-Eugenia, to prove the devotion she had always had 
for the servant of God, wished to possess her scapular. According 
to Enriquez, Brussels was depopulated; not only the lower classes, 
but the nobles and several princes and princesses, departed imme- 
diately to venerate this holy body before it was placed in the tomb. 

123 



Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

God was pleased to confirm this devotion by a miracle. A 
young girl of Antwerp, Catherine Lykens, fell head foremost into 
a deep pit ; the fall was so great that the physicians and surgeons de- 
clared the injury incurable and death near. Then, full of faith, 
Catherine's mother hastened to the Carmelite Church, threw her- 
self before the body of Blessed Mother Anne of St. Barthol- 
omew, and begged her to restore her daughter. She felt that the 
servant of God had interceded for her ; she rose up, ran to her 
home, and found her daughter completely cured. The miraculous 
cure was soon known throughout the city and increased devotion 
to the servant of God. 

Her funeral was celebrated with the greatest solemnity. 

Until Tuesday the holy body was exposed to the gaze and ven- 
eration of the public. It was then enclosed in a coffin and placed 
near the choir grate. The religious therefore continued to have 
their holy Mother at their head when they were at prayer or when 
they chanted the divine praises ; and the people, insatiable in their 
desire to kneel at this tomb, were only separated by the barrier of 
the grate from the powerful mediatrix who did not cease to make 
them realize the effects of her power with God. 



124 



CHAPTER XIII 

COMMENTARY 
Marvels Worked by the Blessed Mother After Her Death. 

Our Lord was pleased to make the tomb of His servant glorious 
by the miraculous favors and cures obtained by the faithful. 

Let us listen to the chronicler of the Carmel of Antwerp on 
this subject: "It is not our intention to enumerate here all the 
wonders God has worked, and continues working every day, 
through the intercession of our Venerable Mother ; this would be to 
undertake an impossibility, since they are innumerable. It will 
suffice us to confirm what is known through all these provinces, 
that she has had the grace to perform miracles of so high an order, 
that there is no kind of sickness whose cure she has not obtained. 

''After her death," continues the chronicler of Antwerp, "this 
grace of miracles became more conspicuous. What was granted 
only to her blessing was obtained now by means of anything of 
which she had made use. The people continue up to this time, com- 
ing to beg the prayers of our Venerable Mother ; they ask to place 
delicate children on her tomb : they beg for some water taken from 
the little pitcher which she formerly used in the refectory ; and 
while drinking this water several fever-stricken and other sick 
persons were cured. Her mantle works wonders. Through the 
efficacy of this mantle with which they covered themselves with 
great confidence, several women in labor, who were in danger of 
dying or of seeing their child deprived of baptism, had a happy 
delivery. In fine, there has been no instance of helping and con- 
soling others where her charity has not appeared in a miraculous 
way." 

The powerful influence of the Blessed Mother with God, and 
the grace of miracles with which He is pleased to favor her, has 
not ceased to shine forth brilliantly from the time of her death 
until our own days. 

It is not within our compass to give an account of so many 
favors and cures obtained through the intercession and influence 
of the inseparable companion of St. Teresa. Among the innumer- 
able facts which attest the power of Anne of St. Bartholomew with 
God, we will cite only one, the cure of Marie de Medici, Queen of 
France. Our reason for choosing this particular case is because 
this queen was in her time one of the greatest protectors of Carmel, 
and because her name is connected, as we will see, with the history 
of the Monastery of Antwerp. We will here borrow again the 
words of the chronicler of this monastery : 

"The Queen Marie de Medici, of glorious memory, who had 
known and honored our Venerable Mother in France, during her 

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Life of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew 

exile in the Netherlands, fell sick at Ghent, in the year 1633, and was 
seized by a burning fever which lasted forty-four days, with in- 
creased temperature every night and anxious restlessness, which 
drove away sleep. Her Highness, the Infanta, not satisfied with 
having the physicians of the queen and the family, sent for those 
of the King of France. But as the seriousness of the illness sur- 
passed the power of their science, all these learned men found 
themselves helpless to save the queen. Then the Venerable 
Mother Eleanor of St. Bernard, true and faithful companion of our 
Saint, and at this time Prioress of the Carmel of Ghent, sent to the 
queen a mantle which she kept and honored, because she had seen 
the Venerable Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew wear it. At the 
same time, she begged her to have confidence in the merits of this 
great servant of God. The pious princess received this good ad- 
vice with the best disposition ; and having ordered that she should 
be covered with this relic, she felt .the sickness increase to such a 
degree that she thought she was about to succumb. Addressing 
her maid of honor, she said: '^Salvage, how is this? This miracle 
will take me to the other world." Madamoiselle Salvage replied : 
"Your majesty must have great confidence; for I have heard when 
the Saints wish to grant a cure the suffering increases at first." 
Shortly after, the queen fell asleep ; and into so profound a sleep 
that it lasted three hours, at the end of which she cried out : ''Sal- 
vage, I am cured !" And summoning the physicians who were in 
waiting, they found the queen free from all trace of fever, and her 
pulse so steady that they published the wonder. They did not op- 
pose her wish to make it known in person ; she rose immediately, 
and made several trips through the city, and let all see she had re- 
covered perfect health. She wished also to give authentic testi- 
mony, signed by her hand, and stamped with her royal seal, which 
we preserve in the archives of our convent. Here is a faithful copy : 
"Marie, by the grace of God, Queen of France and of Navarre : 
We wish to testify that, in the year one thousand, six hundred 
and thirty-three, and the fourteenth day of the month of June, 
while in the city of Ghent, having been tormented for forty-four 
days by a slow, continuous fever, with increased temperature at 
night and great restlessness, which deprived us of sleep, after hav- 
ing used all human means to recover health, we had recourse to 
the merits and prayers of the blessed Mother Anne of St. Barthol- 
omew, whom we had known intimately in France, where, through 
our interest and pleading, she had come from Spain with Mother 
Anne of Jesus, and four other religious, to establish the first mon- 
asteries of her Order, and from there, passing to the Netherlands, 
died several years ago in the city of Antwerp, greatly revered for 
her sanctity ; all of which we learned from several persons worthy 
of belief, and that God had worked miracles in favor of those who 
invoked her; having also been informed that the mantle she 
wore during life had restored to health many sick persons, we had 
the desire to cover ourself with it. This having been done during 
the octave of her decease, and at our hour of repose, we experienced 

126 



Miracles After Death 

extraordinary suffering in all parts of our body ; but they were re- 
lieved, and followed by a sweet and peaceful sleep, during which 
the fever left us entirely. Which we, and the physicians who at- 
tended us, have decided should be attributed to the prayers of the 
blessed Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew and to the touch of her 
mantle. We make this declaration, that it may serve for the glory 
of God, and the honor of His Saints, and have willed to sign it 
with our own hand and stamp it with our seal. Done at Brussels, 
the twenty-sixth of June, one thousand, six hundred and thirty- 
three." 

It was signed Marie, and below, Deslandes. At the side is the 
royal seal in red wax. 

This pious princess was not satisfied with making this declara- 
tion, but to give a more striking proof of gratitude she made a 
vow to strive with all her power to obtain the beatification of her 
great benefactress, and she came to thank her at her tomb, offering 
her a shrine worth from eight to ten thousand francs, which is kept 
in the hope of placing her remains therein. The favor the queen 
Marie de Medici showed the monastery from that time cannot be 
expressed. She called the religious her daughters, and always gave 
them this glorious title, in their presence as well as in their ab- 
sence. When God called her to enjoy the reward of her sufferings 
in the glory of heaven, she ordered in her will that her daughters 
of Antwerp should share the treasures of her Sacristy with the 
Carmelites of Cologne where she then was. 

Pope Clement XII, as we have said in the Preface, issued in 
1735 the decree in which he declared that Mother Anne of St. 
Bartholomew had practised the Christian virtues in a heroic degree. 
May it soon be followed by the decree of beatification ! 



127 



LETTER 

Of the Blessed Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew, to the Infanta 
Clara-Isabella-Eugenia. After the Capture of Breda. 

(The original of this letter is preserved by the Carmelites of 
Antwerp.) 

Jesus, may the grace and love of God be always in the soul of 
your highness. You must welcome the opportunity of taking a little 
repose. You, indeed, merit it after all you have done. Your serv- 
ants and subjects of this monastery desire most ardently to see you. 
This letter is intended only to congratulate your highness on so 
great a victory. Truly, princess dear to my soul, what is seen 
every day shows plainly that you are another Elias ; it seems as if 
God obeys you, and that He does all that your highness wills. 
Owing to the fullness of grace He grants you, I am not astonished 
it should be so. According to the testimony of the Hollanders, the 
Catholics have proclaimed even to the present moment that your 
highness prayed so continuously that by these petitions you 
achieved the victory over your enemies. As for them, they think 
your highness a sorceress. See what you have conquered by the 
graces God has bestowed upon you. These wretches know it well, 
but they will not give up ; they remain obstinate, although they 
realize both your power and your mercy towards their compatriots 
who have fallen into your hands. Blessed be God who possesses 
so good a friend in these States, by whom He confounds them. 
May His Divine Majesty preserve her to us for many years. The 
desire of all here is that your highness will pass this way once more, 
and that it will be granted us to welcome you in this monastery 
where all is yours. We kneel humbly at the feet of your highness, 
offering you our most respectful greetings. We are in fairly good 
health, and always disposed to serve your highness. As Sister 

N is wiriting to your highness, I will now close, although 

it would be a great consolation for me to converse longer with your 
highness ; this pleasure will be mine on some other occasion. 
Your highness* unworthy servant, 

ANNE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 



128 



LETTER 

Of Blessed Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew to Mother Eleanor 

of St. Bernard : 

To My Very Dear Sister, Eleanor of St. Bernard : 

Jesus, be with my very dear Sister. How distressed I am be- 
cause of your ill-health, and how miserable my own is, because I 
cannot cure you. Truly, it is not from want of good will, 
nor because I have not recourse to God, begging Him to grant 
me the cure of so good a Sister. But, my Sister, how little 
power friends have when God wishes otherwise ! May it then 
be so, and may His holy will be done. There is no friend like Him ; 
if He works His will in us, it is for our eternal salvation. And, 
although I plead for your health in this world, I see that the will 
of your reverence is entirely conformed to that of your Adorable 
Master, which consoles me immensely. Another great consolation 
for me was the visit our Father made you ; I think, my very dear 
Sister, this visit must have caused you very sensible joy. Please, 
on the first opportunity, express to our Father all my gratitude. 
Notwithstanding the pleasure it gives me to see him here, I do not 
desire it unless matters of necessity should bring him, as I fear the 
fatigue of the journey would do him harm. As for myself, I am 
getting on fairly well; the novices, as far as I can judge, are doing 
well ; Mother Sub-Prioress is as usual, but she is well. I am under 
obligations to all. As they realize I am so good for nothing, our 
Lord gives them the desire to assist me. Louise acts like a capable 
woman ; for, without absenting herself from the choir, she attends 
to the kitchen and has taken charge of the Turn. Please, my Sister, 
when you Avrite to me, pay her a compliment, and recommend me 
earnestly to God ; consider that I have great need of this in order 
to do all things well and that they may give pleasure to God. May 
He dwell in your soul, my Sister. I recommend myself fervently 
to the prayers of all your novices, and most particularly to my very 
dear Sisters Madeline of St. Joseph, Mary of Jesus, and Mary of the 
Presentation. I recommend myself last of all to the good Andree ; 
I have felt her sorrow deeply, but I will recommend her in a very 
particular way to God. I cannot converse with you longer, my 
Sister ; I am in haste to finish. 

Your Reverence's very little Sister and unworthy servant, 

ANNE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 

(The original of this letter is preserved by the Carmelites of 
Orleans.) 



129 



H. S. Collins Printing Co. 
St. Louis, Mo. 



